There Will Be No Dawn
by Morganalafay
Summary: AU. Three weeks after the return of magic, a far more sinister enemy has risen to threaten the lives of everyone in Storybroke. /'Physical pain is nothing any more. Nothing you do to me can possibly compare to the pain I went through when you killed Daniel'. A slow cruel smile twisted Cora's mouth. 'We shall see'./ Snowing. Stable Queen. Emma/Regina friendship.
1. No Light

_**so this is my first attempt at a Once Upon a Time fanfic. A plot bunny bit me, and wouldn't leave me alone, so I just had to write it. **_

_**a shout out to onceuponanevilregal, my beta for this story, thanks!**_

_**so, please read, and hopefully you will enjoy. please leave a review, criticism is welcome, but please be gentle as this is my first OUAT fic and I feel a little bit unsure about this :)**_

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_**There Will Be No Dawn**_

_**Chapter 1 ~ No Light**_

Fire pierced the darkness. It burned her, coursing like poison through her veins; setting every nerve she had on fire. Pain shocked her into consciences as thousands of tiny white-hot needles dug into her skin, sending agony through her abused body. A high-pitched scream echoed through her head, deafening her as it rebounded through her skull.

Just as quickly as it had begun, the pain ceased. It was only then that she realised that the scream was coming from her own mouth. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut to prevent any tears escaping; Regina focused on her raged breathing, trying desperately to fill her lungs with much needed air and control the pounding of her heart. She remained where she was lying, sprawled on the cold dirty floor with her legs tangled and her arms stretched above her. She knew better than to try and get up.

There was a rustle of heavy material as someone knelt down beside her and the former mayor had to stop herself from flinching when she felt a puff of air on her face. A voice, a voice which had once only haunted her nightmares, hissed in her ear, 'I expect you to look at me when I am talking to you Regina'. A hand grabbed her face roughly, 'have you forgotten all the lessons I taught you? Look at me!'

Regina opened her eyes. The woman leaning over her had not aged in the last twenty eight years. Whether this was a result of the curse or her own magic Regina wasn't sure. She even looked the same as she had when she murdered the boy Regina loved. Eyes as dead and dark as ink bored into Regina's skull as she gazed up at her mother, willing herself not to cry. She might scream and wail but she was determined not to cry. She would not give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Cora leaned forward and Regina flinched as something swung past her face. Hanging on a gold chain around Cora's neck was a circular golden cage that contained a glowing heart, still beating. Regina didn't know whose heart it was and while it wasn't her own, she highly doubted that it belonged to the other woman. But it was the other pendent hanging from her neck that really repulsed Regina. It was a dagger, a dagger that had once belonged to Rumpelstiltskin. At least, it had belonged to him until Cora had killed him. Its blade was still crusted with the imp's blood.

Cora's red lips curled into a sneer as she saw where her daughter was looking. She leaned further forward so that the heart swung dangerously close to Regina's face and whispered, 'you may have had a reputation of collecting hearts Regina dear, but you never quite had the stomach for the job, did you?'

Regina stared at the heart as if hypnotised, and it was because of this that she missed the warning signs. Cora's hand suddenly tightened claw-like around Regina's throat and she hissed, 'I asked you a question Regina'.

The younger woman spluttered and choked out, 'yes mother, I never had the stomach for it, you were always far more brutal than I was with my subjects'.

Cora stood suddenly, dragging Regina up with her, and threw her daughter bodily against the stone wall behind her. Regina struck the wall hard and remained suspended there as her mother squeezed her in an invisible vice-like grip. Cora sighed dramatically. 'Must I be the one to tell you what you just said wrong?'

The hard rough stone pressed into the abused skin of her back, causing Regina to whimper quietly as she fought to keep the pain off her face. The invisible force was crushing hard against her chest, constricting her rib cage and forcing the air from her lungs. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. 'No mother,' she gasped. 'I… one must not make…sarcastic comments'.

A smile abruptly flashed across Cora's face. 'Good girl' she turned away from Regina and dropped her hand. Regina crashed to the floor, sustaining further damage to her already bruised body, knocking what little breath she had left out of her completely.

She lay sprawled on her front, listening to her mother crossing the floor towards her as she heaved great ragged gulps of air. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees just as Cora reached her and placed a hand under her chin, forcing her head up.

Cora studied her face for a moment, eyes flicking over the bruises that were scattered across her beautiful face and the bags under her eyes. Blood trickled down from where her scalp had rubbed against floor but neither woman seemed to notice it.

The silence stretched on, punctuated by the sound of someone crying and trying desperately not to be heard. Finally, Cora said, 'you haven't cried. You used to cry'.

Regina swallowed. 'Physical pain is nothing anymore. Nothing you do to me can possibly compare to the pain I went through when you killed Daniel'.

A slow cruel smile twisted Cora's mouth, 'we shall see'. The older woman turned away and marched out the cell door, slamming it shut. She turned the key in the lock and then smiled through the bars at Regina. 'I hope that one day you will understand that everything I have ever done for you has been for your own good, Regina. Love is weakness and if you would stop attaching yourself to people who leave you vulnerable, you might remember that'.

The woman turned and left, climbing the stairs to the world above, to a town that would soon feel the pain she loved to inflict. She was followed a moment later by a tall guard clad in black armour who had remained silent during the proceedings.

Once the sound of her footsteps had receded into the distance, Regina allowed her weakness to show, dropping her head against her chest as her arms trembled with the effort of keeping her body from meeting the ground again.

It had been three weeks since Rumplestiltskin had restored magic to Storybroke, three weeks since her mother had turned up in the town. They hadn't even noticed at first. The occupants of the town had been too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice a dark figure, no more than a shadow, slipping out of the forest towards Mr Gold's shop. Most of them had been clamouring for Regina's blood, and it was only the actions of Emma that had stopped them from trying to murder her where she stood. The fact that she was no longer helpless with the return of her own magic also helped to delay matters. But then someone had tried to kill Henry and it was only because of Regina that he had survived. The town, led by a thoroughly pissed off sheriff, had marched straight to Mr Gold's shop, only to find the body of the imp hanging upside down from the ceiling by his ankle.

Disaster after disaster had soon followed; the mayor's house had been set on fire, houses blew up, streets became impossible to enter because of the ground would suddenly rear up to swallow them and the hands of the clock tower burned with a malicious purple fire.

The former inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest had put aside their hatred for the former Evil Queen in the face of a much larger, and unknown, threat. Exactly two weeks ago they had discovered how real that threat was. First Snow White, then James and Emma, disappeared without a trace. Regina simply woke up one morning to find herself in the same cell she was in now, accompanied by the same people she had once hated. It was then that she discovered that her mother was very much alive. Regina hadn't even tried to escape; Cora held the threat of Henry's death dangling over her head. She didn't even know if he was alive.

Tears which she had been containing started to fall at the thought of her son. They had reconciled when she had agreed to help Emma defend the rest of the town and she had taken every precaution to ensure his safety. But it hadn't been enough. She had let him out of her sight for just a moment and he was gone, ripping a hole in her heart at the thought of what might happen to him. It seemed that her mother was determined to rip everything she had ever loved out of her life.

The silent tears left clean tracks on her dirt smudged face and she didn't have the energy to wipe them away. She wept for Henry, who was possibly dead because of her and she wept for Daniel, the boy who had died because she was stupid enough to let her mother near him, the boy who had died because of her love. Perhaps her mother was right; love was weakness. But it was a weakness she could not help. Everyone she had ever loved had faced death because of her.

A hand touched her shoulder gently, dragging her away from the dangerous path her thoughts were taking. Regina knew perfectly well who it was, but she no longer had the desire or the will to shake them off. After a moment the grip on her shoulder tightened and someone gently pulled her upright, leaning her back against the wall. She kept her gaze to the floor; she didn't want to see the pity that she knew she would see.

It was only when she felt someone wipe a cloth over her face that she jerked her head away. She neither deserved nor wanted the younger woman's kindness and pity.

Emma sat back on her haunches and glanced helplessly at her parents, shackled to the other side of the room. James shook his head, feeling just as useless as his daughter, and rubbed a hand over his wife's back, trying, and failing, to sooth Snow's sobs. Despite all the hate and pain between Snow and her step-mother, Snow couldn't bear to watch the older woman suffer like this. It was only during the past couple of weeks that Snow had begun to understand why Regina was the way she was, why she changed so much when she had lost the only person she loved.

Emma ran a hand through her dishevelled blonde hair and tried, for what seemed like the thousandth time, to think of something to do. She felt so useless these days, unable to do anything but watch as the woman who had once been her bitter rival suffered at the hands of her own mother. For the most, Cora left the other three alone. But she had paid attention to Emma once or twice and Emma would probably bear the scars for the rest of her life. That is, if they ever got out of here.

Emma gazed helplessly at the woman huddled against the wall, feeling her heart wrench as the broken woman rocked back and forth with her knees pulled up to her chest. Gone was the imposing mayor who had been such a pain in the arse to her. Gone was the proud upright woman who all most never shown emotion in public. Instead the woman before her resembled a wreck (though none of the others looked much better). Cuts and bruises littered her arms and her clothes were ripped, torn and dirty. Emma knew that under her clothes the woman was hiding further injures that she herself had witnessed Cora inflict. But there was nothing she could do to help.

With a final shuddering breath Regina seemed to regain control of the raging turmoil inside her and her tears abruptly stopped. She looked up at Emma and offered the younger woman a very small smile, though neither woman was sure what it meant. Emma leaned forward and used the edge of her sleeve to wipe away the blood trickling down Regina's face, watching closely as Regina stiffened ever so slightly at the contact. Then she sat back against the wall close to her, but not close enough that Regina would feel uncomfortable.

Emma had long since stopped trying to understand the relationship she had with her son's legal mother. When most people in the town had started clamouring for Regina to pay for her crimes, Emma had been completely against it and for more than one reason. The strongest reason had been because she knew what it would do to Henry. Despite the boy's fervent objections that his adopted mother was the Evil Queen, that didn't love her and that she didn't love him, Emma knew that this wasn't true. She knew that Regina loved Henry. She had known since that day at the mine, and the incident in the hospital had been enough to fix that firmly in her mind. And, despite his protests, Emma knew that Henry loved Regina back. It was evident in the way he still called her 'mom'. The other reason was that Emma knew first hand that life wasn't a fairy tale, and therefore not everything was as black and white as Henry's book made them out to be. There was another side to this story that she didn't know. So she had objected, and because she was the 'savoir' they had listened to her.

Then someone had tried to attack Henry. Emma's hands clenched in anger, eyes closing as the scene rose behind her had been walking to the hospital from the diner, his head buried in his book, when it happened. Emma, mere metres away from him, had been arguing with a group of people, including Regina, Snow and James, when she had spotted him walking towards them. Even now, Emma wasn't sure what it was that had alerted her that something was wrong. A feeling in the air, a build-up of tension, something had sent her sprinting across the road towards him. Her cry of warning had been echoed by Regina. A moment later, a car beside Henry had blown up. Emma had skidded to a stop, horror filling her as a column of smoke rose into the air, a scream of despair flying from her lips. And then she had heard a sound to her left. Spinning, she saw with shock and relief that Henry stood in the middle of the road, safely wrapped in Regina's arms.

It was then that she had started to trust Regina. As long as Henry's life was threatened, Regina would put his safety before any conflict she had with Emma, or Emma's mother. It was during the next few days, amidst the fear of an unknown threat that had been strong enough to kill Rumplestiltskin, that Emma had begun to consider Regina as an ally. Now, having been trapped in a cell with the woman for nearly two weeks, Emma didn't know what to call her. A friend? Emma was pretty sure Regina would not accept that title, no matter what Emma herself felt.

On the other side of the room, Snow had also stopped crying. She pulled away from her husband and rubbed her eyes, feeling suddenly ashamed of her tears, then sat very straight, setting her chin determinedly. 'We have to get out of here'.

Emma and James looked at her, seemingly interested, while Regina just continued to gaze at the floor. As if to support his wife, James stood and stretched. 'Snow is right. We can't give up hope that we'll be rescued. I trust Thomas and they do have the Blue Fairy'.

This very short speech was undermined when Regina snorted sceptically. James turned to her and raised his eyebrows. 'What?' There was no menace in his voice however. He had learned to work with the former Evil Queen over the past weeks, and seeing the way she somehow managed to withstand her mother's onslaughts had made him feel, if not friendship towards her, then at least respect. He had come to understand that it was very true when people said that there were two sides to every story, and that Regina was not the Evil Queen that he had once thought her to be. She was not evil. And while her story was a lot darker than Snow's, it was really just a darker shade of grey than an empty black abyss. He sighed heavily to himself; he still didn't even know what Regina's story was, or why she hated Snow so much, as neither woman had told him yet.

Regina continued to gaze at the floor, her voice barely above a whisper as she spoke. 'Do you have any idea how powerful my mother really is? She was always skilled in the dark arts but now she has had over thirty years to enhance that power. Power is an obsession for her. And now she has Rumplestiltskin's power, the power of a Dark One. There is no telling what she can do now. The Blue Fairy,' Regina muttered darkly. 'Compared to my mother the Blue Fairy's magic matches the skill of babe'. She paused. 'As for the others, my mother has never taken very well to insubordination'. Her fingers traced absentmindedly over the scar on her lip as she spoke, and no one in the room had any doubts as to how it got there.

There was a long silence. Then Snow said, 'I'm so sorry Regina'. She spoke quietly, yet her voice was thick with hidden emotion and her shoulders were slumped as if a great burden weighed her down.

Very slowly, Regina raised her head. Snow stared into her soft brown eyes, and for the first time, she saw past the mask that Regina usually wore. She saw the torment and the anger, the pain and the grief and felt unimaginable sorrow for the part she had played in causing all that. Once, she had hated her step-mother. Now, there was no hate left to feel.

Regina stared at her and for a second she saw the young innocent girl that she had saved all those years ago. _What had it all been for?_ She asked herself. The pain, the anger, the need and desire for revenge on a little girl who hadn't understood what the consequences of her actions would be. It wasn't Snow's fault, not entirely, and it wasn't really even Cora's. It was hers. It was all her fault that Daniel had died that day. It was all her fault that her mother had ripped his heart out. Snow had been the stones that started an avalanche. Cora had been the executer. But Regina had been the cause. She caused Daniel's death by daring to love him. Regina searched desperately inside herself for some scrap of hate that she could direct at Snow, to save herself from the river of guilt that threatened to swallow her. But there wasn't any. She felt her hate wink out like a candle flame, only to be replaced by guilt and regret. All those years wasted, all those lives lost, all for a cause that had been useless in the first place. If there was anyone who she should have taken it out on, it should have been her mother. She thought of all the blood on her hands, all the pain she had caused and turned her head away, feeling the tears well up again, ashamed of what she had done. Then, with a great effort of will, she turned her head back to the young woman, whose face was wet with fresh tears, and nodded.

In that moment, in the darkness of the cell, Regina finally allowed herself let go of her hate.


	2. Tales Past

_**so I've fixed the problem for those of you who couldn't see this chapter (i think). i have no idea what happened, but im sorry for the trouble :) thank you to the Guest who alerted me to the problem :)**_

_**thank you too all of you who followed, favourited, and reviewed this story, I hope you like this chapter :)**_

_**one more thing, this chapter has not been through beta, as my beta is on vacation :) i was going to wait till they got back, but i couldnt any longer :)**_

_**so, enjoy, and please review!**_

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_**Chapter 2 ~ Tales Past**_

The heavy silence was broken by an exasperated sigh from Emma. The young woman was looking between Regina and Snow, her expression both one of confusion and impatience. She was really sick of this, the cryptic way Snow and Regina would talk to each other, purposely leaving out the details so that neither Emma nor James had any idea what they were talking about. James voiced his daughter's feelings by turning to Snow and saying quietly, 'what are you sorry for? What is this story that none of us know?'

Snow hesitated. Regina hadn't moved since the single nod she had given Snow, and while the young woman realised that Regina was excepting her apology, she wasn't sure whether either of them were ready to talk about it. She still wasn't ready to admit how selfish she had been as a child, or to accept the amount of guilt she felt. 'I don't know if I can tell you'. She said quietly. 'It's not really my story to tell'.

James raised his eyebrows. Then both he and Emma turned their heads to look at Regina. Regina looked up, feeling their gazes on her, and sighed. She stood up slowly and walked away from them, her legs shaking slightly as they took her as far to the other side of the cell as she could go before the chain around her ankle stopped her. She stood there for a moment, gazing blankly at the stone wall. Then she spoke. 'When I was slightly younger than Snow, around nineteen, I fell in love with a boy who worked in the stables of our manor. I'd known him for years and he had been my only friend for a long time. I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone before and for the first time in my life I was happy. Then, one year later, I saved Snow from falling off her horse as she was riding through our estate'. She paused and took a deep breath, surprised at how easily the words were coming. She had never talked to anyone about this. 'It turned out that the girl I saved was the daughter of the King. You can imagine how pleased my mother was about the turn of events. When the King came to thank me, he proposed to me in the hope that I would be a good mother to his daughter. My mother accepted'. A tightness was forming in her chest now, and it had nothing to do with the soreness she could feel in her muscles. 'My mother…I hadn't had the courage to tell her about Daniel. I went to him that night and told him everything and begged him to run away with me. He asked me to marry him'. She was breathing hard, pain stabbing at her heart as she moved closer and closer to the terrible event. She leaned her hands against the wall, pressing her forehead against its cool surface as she continued. 'Snow caught us. Understandably, she was confused as she had thought that I would be overjoyed at becoming her step-mother. I managed to convince her that I loved Daniel and that the only way for us to be together was for us to run away. I made her promise not to tell anyone, especially not my mother'. Her voice hardened slightly as she spoke, but there was none of the bitter hate she had once felt whenever she thought of Snow's actions. 'The next night Daniel and I were caught trying to leave by my mother. At first I thought that she was coming round and that she would let us marry. But then she led Daniel away to talk to him and she…' Regina stopped, unable to continue as the tightness in her chest had become unbearable.

She turned suddenly to face her audience. They were gazing at her and each of them seemed to realise that the worst was yet to come. Emma was leaning forward slightly, eyes round as she waited for Regina to continue. James was on his feet, as if he could somehow stop the event she was about to relay from occurring. Snow had turned away and was standing with her back to Regina, arms folded. She knew what came next. Regina took a deep breath. 'She ripped his heart out and…crushed it to dust right in front of me'. She couldn't help it; a sob escaped her lips and her hands flew to her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into tears.

Her listeners reacted just as she had expected them to. Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes popped out of her head. James looked both horrified and disgusted, his hand flying up to his own chest, as if he was suddenly uncertain that his heart own was there. Snow's back stiffened and she trembled, but no one made any move to comfort her. Clenching her fists, Regina forced herself to continue the story. 'She told me that love was weakness, and that though I thought I loved him, it would have all faded away. She told me that love is an illusion, and that there is only power'. She lifted her head and looked directly at Snow's back. 'It was only later that I found out that Snow was the one who gave me away. In my grief and anger I blamed her. During the next years, trapped in a loveless marriage where the King barely acknowledged my presence, my anger grew until I wanted nothing more than to make her feel the same grief that I had. That I still do'. A single tear slid unnoticed down her cheek.

James watched as it dripped from her chin, sparkling like a small diamond as it fell through the air, fragmenting into a thousand tiny drops of water when it struck the ground. A strange feeling overcame him. He suddenly felt more than just pity for the clearly broken woman in front of him. He also felt that in a strange way he finally understood her. James had never understood why the Evil Queen hated Snow so much and it had always bothered him as he had believed that no one could want to cause that much pain without reason. Now he understood. She had been broken all her life and she had started to heal when she fell in love. When that was ripped brutally away from her and she was denied any sort of love from the king, she had fractured completely. Beneath her words, James could hear the guilt she felt over her lover's death. Desperate to stop herself from drowning under the burden of her guilt and grief, she had created the façade of the Evil Queen. Her heart was broken, just like her tear drop. He moved forward slightly and, after a brief hesitation, placed a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under his touch, regarding him through eyes that were both weary and surprised. 'I'm sorry', he said simply.

She blinked, shock flooding her face. 'For what?'

A sad smile tugged at his lips. 'For your loss. And for thinking that you were evil, that you acted without cause. I thought that you were heartless and that you were simply after power, and for that I am sorry'.

Before Regina could recover from this, Emma stood up and said, 'I'm sorry too'.

Once, Regina might have rebuffed this and sneered as a way of showing her uneasiness about the amount of apologies she was getting. She didn't feel she deserved them. Instead she just repeated her question, regarding Emma through soft brown eyes, bright with tears that would not be shed.

Emma sighed. 'For making you feel that I was trying to take Henry away from you'. She placed her hand on Regina's other shoulder, trying to express how sorry she was. 'I'm sorry for believing that you were a heartless bitch who didn't love her son'.

A shadow of a smirk flashed across Regina's lips at Emma's last comment, but she nodded at both father and daughter, accepting their apologies and trying in return to convey the gratitude she felt. For a moment they remained like that, James with his hand on Regina's right shoulder, Emma with her hand on her left. Then Regina stepped back and shrugged them off, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the friendly contact. 'This is all very nice but let's not get too lovey-dovey just yet; we are still trapped in a cell'. She was smirking, but it was a less menacing smirk than the one she had once worn, and both Emma and James could tell that she appreciated the gesture.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming down the stone steps towards them reached their ears. The smirk was wiped from Regina's lips as her face paled alarmingly. The others understood her apprehension; Cora had never returned to early after a session before. Emma felt a shiver run up her spine as she glanced at Regina. The blonde was unsure exactly how much more Regina could take.

Snow moved forward and Emma jumped, having almost completely forgotten about her mother, and tugged at her arm urgently. Emma knew what she was thinking; if Cora saw them standing she would realise something was going on, and she might punish them all if she thought they were trying to think of a way to escape. She sat down quickly on the floor and Snow sat next to her.

James and Regina sat down on a low wooden bench that protruded from the back wall and fixed their eyes on the bottom of the steps. Regina's arm was pressed against James and he could feel her body trembling violently. He caught Snow's eye and smiled softly at her, giving her silent strength. Strength that he didn't feel himself.

A figure descended the steps and approached the cell. It took them all a moment to realise that this was not Cora, but the guard who usually accompanied her. The man was clad in black with a similarly coloured breastplate covering his chest. Aside from the black helmet that concealed his face, he wore no other armour. James observed all this with a keen eye. The man was also carrying a sword, but if he entered the cell and James caught him by surprise, there might be a way of over powering him. The man was also carrying a cloth wrapped bundle under his arm.

By the time he had reached the cell door, all four were on their feet again, unsure what this new arrival meant. Cora had never sent a guard down alone before. When he was barely a foot away from them, the man glanced once over his shoulder, as if checking for something, and then thrust the bundle through the bars. Taken aback by this strange turn of events, none of them moved for a moment. Then Emma moved forward and took it from him. Kneeling on the floor, she unwrapped the package to reveal a loaf of crisp fresh bread, still warm, and a round of cheese. There was also a bottle of clear water. Emma's mouth watered as she heard the others gasp. While their needs were sustained by a spell placed on them by Cora, it had been a long time since they had had any real food.

There was a movement behind them and they turned back to face the guard, thanks on their lips, and saw that he was holding out a very sharp knife. Regina took it from him and stared at his helmet, where she assumed his eyes were. 'Aren't you afraid that we'll use this to escape somehow?'

'No'. The guard's voice was muffled by his helmet but they could hear his words clearly enough. 'You are not here of your free will. You could leave but you don't because the Dark One has someone that you all love'.

Regina gave him a long look. 'Are you here of your own free will?'

The guard shook his head slowly. 'The Dark One has the woman I love. As long as she is in her power, I dare not defy her'. His voice, though muffled, was distinctly sad.

Regina offered him a look of pity and then a puzzled frown. 'Then why risk helping us?'

The guard shrugged, a mere movement of his shoulders. 'The Dark One has gone out to deal with a few 'pests', she will not be back for a while'. He was silent for a moment. 'I have been under her control for a long time and I have suffered greatly at her hand. I can only guess what you went through as a child'. It was a strange explanation, and once Regina might have pushed for more information. Instead, she nodded tiredly and then sat down on the ground with the others.

The guard started to move away when James said, 'who are these pests she has gone to deal with?'

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment. 'Your friends have been keeping out of sight ever since you were captured. So far, the Dark One's efforts to locate them have come to nothing'. Regina felt his gaze turn to her as he continued. 'The enchantments you placed on them seem to be working. The Dark One can feel that they are out there but she can't locate them. The only people she can see are the Fairies, but that is only occasionally. She located one of them a moment after she left you and she is following it up'.

'And if she doesn't find them then it will be all the worse for us, right?' Emma had detected what the man seemed hesitant to say.

The guard nodded. Regina swallowed, feeling dread uncoiling in the pit of her stomach. 'Do you…know anything about my son?'

Regina bit her lip as the guard paused. She could feel the same urgency emanating from the blonde beside her. Then the guard shook his head. 'Your son is alive. That is all I know'.

Despite the underlying meaning in his words, Regina felt her body relax slightly as a smile graced her lips. Henry was alive, and for the moment that was all that mattered.

The guard moved away suddenly as if stung and when he spoke his voice shook slightly. 'Eat. I will come back soon to take away the evidence'. He paused. 'Get some rest too. I somehow doubt that the Dark One will find anything'. Then, before the others could say anything, he was gone.

Regina stared after him, surprised at his sudden departure. Then she shook herself and settled down to eat with the others. The sat in silence for a while, passing the bottle of water around and taking turns slicing the bread and cheese. It wasn't the most amazing meal that any of them had had before, but they enjoyed it immensely. During the meal, Regina kept her eyes on her food, except for the one time she had glanced at Emma. Emma looked both relieved and worried and her brows were drawn together in an intense frown.

It didn't take them long to finish the food and water. When they had, Snow was the first to speak. 'Who is he? I don't recognise him from the Enchanted Forest'.

Emma remained silent while both Regina and James shook their heads. 'He may not come from the Enchanted Forest', said Regina. 'I have no idea where my mother has spent the last few decades. She hasn't aged, but that may be because of her magic rather than a consequence of the curse'. She paused, frowning. 'She may have spent about ten years in another world practicing her dark magic before she was bought here by the curse. Or she may have been bought here when Rumplestiltskin opened the doorways between worlds to bring magic here. That man could be from another world. Then again, it's impossible to tell with his features covered'.

James rubbed a hand over his face. 'I think we should follow his advice though, whoever he is, and get some rest'. He stood and moved back to the side of the wall, settling down in an attempt to get comfortable. Snow joined him, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

Neither Regina nor Emma moved. Regina was too highly strung to consider trying to sleep and both she and Emma knew that their shared concern for Henry would leak into their dreams if they did. Emma moved to sit against the back wall but she didn't try to get comfortable. She had no desire to sleep at the moment.

Regina wrapped the cloth around the knife and the empty bottle, just for something to do. She stood and was moving to the door when the guard came down the stairs again. He moved quickly towards the cell and she passed him the bundle, offering a smile of thanks as she did. Again, he seemed to flinch and when he took the bundle he was careful not to touch her. Regina was too tired even notice, but Emma and James did. They shared a glance, both wondering at the guard's actions.

The guard turned to go, then hesitated and turned back. After a moment he said, 'I found your son'.

Regina moved closer to the bars and clenched her hands around them, letting the man see her worry and urgency. Behind her, Emma shot to her feet. 'Is he alright?' Regina's voice was barely above a whisper. _If Cora had harmed him..._ she tried not to think about what might have been done to him. Her mother hated small children.

'Physically, he is fine'. The guard faltered as Regina's eyes widened. The brunette had picked up the 'but' that was about to come. 'Your mother is keeping him in a room above here. She set up a sort of mirror thing in his room…' he paused and his next words were laced with anger. 'She is forcing him to watch everything that happens in here'.

Snow was the first person to react to his words. She let out an outraged sound, her hands clenching tightly as her body shook with anger. James tensed, eyes narrowing in anger as he fought to keep himself from leaping to his feet. Emma exercised no such restraint. 'That bitch!' she swore loudly. The thought of her son being forced to watch his adopted mother being violently abused by her own mother made her blood boil. Not to mention the few times Cora had punished Emma and her parents. Breathing heavily, Emma turned and slammed her hand angrily into the stone wall, letting out a stream of violent curses.

Regina didn't seem to hear the guard at first. She stood completely still, frozen. Her eyes, still fixed on the guard, glazed over. She remained as still as a statue while Emma continued to swear her head off. Then her gaze cleared and her eyes darkened until they were almost black in colour. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the bars tighter and tighter. Inside, Regina was struggling against the violent storm of anger that had just sprung up inside her, fighting to stop her magic from igniting. For a moment it seemed she had lost as a spark jumped from her hands to run up and down the bars. She breathed deeply in and out and gradually the storm quietened in her chest.

Taking a finale deep breath, Regina managed to focus on the guard still standing just beyond the bars. The helmet prevented her from seeing his expression but she had the strange feeling that he was aware of her internal struggle. Emma moved to stand beside her and, after casting a quick concerned glance at Regina, spoke to the guard. 'Is there anyway of stopping her?'

The guard shook his head. 'The only way to stop her is to kill her with the dagger of the Dark One, which she keeps hung around her neck at all times'.

Emma frowned. 'Well what's the problem with that?'

Regina answered, still keeping her gaze on the guard. 'If you kill the Dark One then you become the next Dark One. The dagger is her power'. She smiled slightly at Emma's astonished gaze. 'How do you think Rumplestiltskin managed to live for so long? There is no known way to kill a Dark One except with their dagger'.

The guard nodded. 'The only way to stop her is to either kill her or get your hands on the dagger. Whoever controls the dagger controls the Dark One'.

Emma hesitated. 'Is there any way you could get the dagger without her noticing?' Her tone of voice clearly expressed that she knew the guard would only be putting himself in further risk if he tried to help them.

The guard shook his head. 'Unfortunately not. However much I might want to help you, I can't put the woman I love at risk. Besides, she wouldn't let me close enough to her'.

'Why?' asked James from his position on the floor.

The guard sighed. 'She keeps my heart with her. She is always on the lookout encase I try to get it back'.

Snow's mouth was open in horror. 'She has your heart _and_ the woman you love?'

The guard didn't answer. Instead he said, 'I should go, she might come back soon'. His tone was apologetic.

Regina smiled at him. 'Thank you, for helping us and for bringing us news of Henry.'

The guard bowed his head. At the steps he stopped and turned back. 'Do try and get some sleep'. Without waiting for an answer, he left.

There was a long silence. Then Emma turned to Regina. 'Perhaps we should follow his advice; we might not have another opportunity for a while'.

Regina nodded and there were murmurs of agreement from the others. When Regina made no move to sit down, Emma took the older woman gently by the shoulders and led her to the back of the room, surprised when she got to resistance.

With her back resting against the wall, Emma thought back to the first time she had tried to help Regina after her mother had left. The woman had stayed huddled at the back of the room, rocking back and forth on her knees. When the blonde had tried to help her, Regina had lashed out viciously, refusing to even let Emma anywhere near her. Emma hadn't tried again for a couple of days, sensing the humiliation and hurt that the brunette felt, and not just physically. It hadn't taken very long for Cora to ware Regina down however, as the permanently ingrained fear of her mother had quickly resin to the surface under the constant reminder of her childhood.

Less than a week after they had been placed in this god-forsaken cell, Regina had let her walls down. It happened after Cora decided to teach Emma a lesson to curb her 'unpleasant language'. After Cora had left, Regina had been the one to approach Emma, tracing the open wounds on her back with a delicate finger, healing them. Cora didn't even so much as glance at Emma the next day, so luckily this insubordination had gone unnoticed. But a line had been crossed that couldn't be erased.

Emma lay down on the floor, winding her arms around her head in an effort to get comfortable. Snow and James looked perfectly comfortable, bodies curled into each other, arms wrapped around each other. It was only in sleep that any of them found any peace. Except for Regina, her dreams were haunted by images of her childhood and pictures of her lost love.

Emma rolled on her side and huffed moodily. Regina was lying on her side, facing away from the others, and Emma couldn't tell whether she was asleep or not. Her heart filled with pity for the older woman. Emma had had her share of bad experiences as a child, but she couldn't imagine what it would have been like to grow up with your own mother treating you that badly, especially when she had more than physical ways of punishing you. Her thoughts turned to Snow and what little she knew of her mother from Henry's book. It occurred to her that if Snow had been denied love all her life and then had her true love ripped away from her in such a brutal way, perhaps she would have done the same things Regina had. Emma narrowed her eyes, muttering darkly under her breath. If Cora so much as touched Henry, Emma would make sure she paid. _Stuff all this magic,_ she thought darkly; _I'll kill her with my bare hands_.

One thing was certain. Somehow they had to get out, and if that meant using desperate measures, then so be it.

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**_so what do you think? I hope that answers some of your questions from the last chapter, such as what happened to Rumple's dagger :) _**

**_constructive criticism is welcome! _**

**_Henry will come into the next chapter by the way :)_**

**_by the way, i thought i should probably make something clear. some of you may think that it's a bit soon for Regina to be forgiving Snow, telling her past story to Emma and James, and accepting their apologies. just remember that it has been two weeks since they were caught, and that all the walls Regina built around herself are crumbling under the influence of her mother. :)_**


	3. Torn Pictures

_**Okay everyone, I seriously have to apologise for the length of time this has taken. I hope you're all still interested in where this is going, and that you stick with it. **_

_**As promised, in this chapter we finally see Henry and find out a bit of what he has been going through. this chapter has not been through beta. **_

_**Now that the series premiere has aired, I know there is a chance some of you will lose interest in this story, as it is now officially AU. But please keep reading!**_

_**So, read and enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter 3 ~ Torn Pictures **_

Henry threw his hands out in front of him as he was thrown roughly onto the floor of the cell. He hit the floor hard, grazing his hands on the cold surface. The momentum carried him forward over his hands and he landed heavily on his back, unable to stop the cry of pain that tore from his lips. The cell door clanged shut. Henry scrambled upright and backed away into a corner, his only thought to put as much distance between himself and the woman who had left scratch marks on the back of his burning neck.

Cora gazed through the bars at him, the slight silvery moonlight lending her face an almost skull like appearance as she smiled. Henry felt his body tremble and knew just from her expression that he looked scared. 'Poor Henry, for all the love your family claims to have for you, you have them to thank for you current predicament'.

She left him in the dark with a sweep of billowing skirts, not waiting for a reply.

Henry swallowed with some difficulty, trying to supress his rising fear. The shadows in the cell seemed to ring with Cora's triumphant laughter. He hugged his knees to his chest, breathing deeply through his nose, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. In the days when he had still been afraid of the dark, his mom had found ways to comfort him. Telling him to breathe deeply had been one way; through what he desperately craved right now was her warm comforting embrace.

Tears pricked the back of his eyes at the thought of his mom. The realisation that he might never see her again hit him like a ton of bricks. The image of her screaming in pain was burned into his memory, a brand that would never be erased. But at least then he had known that she was alive. At least up in that room he had had a glimpse of his family. Now, he wasn't so sure. What frightened him most was that he had no idea why Cora had removed him from that room. She had obviously enjoyed his pain when she forced him to watch what happened in the cell below, and he couldn't help feeling that everything was about to get much worse.

There was a crinkling sound as he hugged his knees to his chest; the sound of old paper rustling. Slowly, he put his hand inside his shirt pocket and withdrew the source of the sound. A single page of his beloved fairy tale book – the only part of it left. When Cora had emptied his backpack and found it, she'd gone into a fit of uncontrollable rage. She physically wrestled it from his grasp and thrown it into the fire before he could stop her. In the struggle, he had ripped a single page out and shoved it into his pocket; determined to have at least one part of the book he had treasured for so long.

He inched away from the wall, into the single beam of moonlight, and spread the page onto the stone floor. The entire page was taken up by a single beautiful illustration. It depicted a very young girl kneeling on the forest floor, gazing up into the face of an older girl. Both had long dark hair and both were smiling. The elder girl's eyes were dark and her beautiful face was split in a wide grin of relief, her arms on the younger girl's shoulders as if she was about to draw her into a hug. The young girl had a pretty face, with skin as white as snow. Beneath the two girls was a single sentence written in fine flowing script. _Love, true love, is the most powerful magic of all. _

His tears came faster, spilling over his nose and down his chin to land on the page. The story of the Evil Queen's past had appeared the day he had been captured. He'd barely had any time to read it before it had been destroyed for good. The realisation that his mother had been through just as much as the people he had worshiped as heroes, perhaps more, had killed something inside of him. He had tried to believe for so long that she was evil, and that she had to be defeated, that he had pushed away the one person who had needed his love more than anyone. He could still see her heartbreaking expression as she told him that she loved him. He hated himself for not believing her until it was too late.

'Are you alright?' Henry jerked his head up, heart pounding at the stranger's voice. He hadn't even realised that he wasn't alone in the cell. There was a man sitting on the other side of the cell, just in the shadows. Henry could see very little of the person, other than the fact that they were obviously tall and strong. He could make out broad shoulders and muscular arms, a flat chest and a long torso. Long legs were crossed under him, and his hands were resting lightly in his lap. Henry could tell that it was a man, because aside from what he could see of the figure, the voice had been distinctly masculine.

Henry swallowed his fear and said loudly, 'who are you?'

There was a long pause. 'I… I am – was – the guard that came to see you earlier today'.

Henry remembered; a tall, strong man with a helmet covering his face. 'You told me that my mom was alright. You said that she loved me'.

He saw the man nod. There was a distinctly awkward pause before the man spoke again. 'you didn't answer my question. Are you alright?' the man's voice was kind and pleasant. Henry found himself liking him. He wondered who he had been in the Enchanted Forest.

And suddenly, everything he had been burning to say burst out of him. The words and emotions spilled from his mouth. He told the man how he missed his mom, what he had put her through. He told him about Emma, how she was the saviour. He told him about Snow and Charming. And he told him about how much he just wanted to tell his mom that he loved her.

There was a long pause after Henry's revelation. The body sat on the cold floor, breathing hard. He had barely taken a breath during his entire speech. But he felt much better for having said it. Then the man stirred. He moved forwards, extending his hand as if he wanted to pull Henry into an embrace. But then he stopped, just before the light could shine on his face and he sat back again. 'Henry…I know you believe that your mom must hate you after this. Am I right?' at Henry's dejected nod he continued. 'But you have to believe me when I say that she loves you. And nothing will ever change that, no matter what you do. As for whether she is evil or not, I think you know that answer. I think you've realised that nothing is black or white'.

Henry nodded again, though the last words had been more of a statement than a question. He was about to say something when the man spoke again, this time in a sad, extremely apologetic voice. 'I'm afraid this is my fault Henry. Why we're down here I mean. I took food to your family, and water, and I told them what was going on. I told them about you and where you were. I believed, foolishly, that the Dark One would not know. She found out and she threw me in here, promising me that I would regret ever helping them. And now, I believe they may suffer more because of my actions. I'm sorry'.

Once again, Henry found himself wondering who this man was. The sincerity in his voice startled him somewhat. He sounded far sorrier than Henry would have expected from someone who had simply done something out of an act of kindness. He also felt that he should say something to make the man feel better, especially after how he had comforted Henry. 'I don't think you should blame yourself for all of that. Cora seems like the kind of person who enjoys causing pain…I know she does'. He remembered the expression of glee on her face when she was hurting his family. He shuddered. 'Besides, you helped them. You gave them hope. You would be surprised what Snow and Charming can do with hope'.

'Henry…' again the man made that peculiar gesture again, like he was forcing himself to not to try and comfort the young boy. The man sighed heavily. 'Somehow Henry, I don't think that this is your typical fairy tale story. This may now end well'.

The ten year old boy stared directly at the place he assumed the man's eyes were and said, 'it will. My mom deserves a happy ending. So does Emma and so do Snow and Charming. This _will_ end well'.

There was a silence after that, one that seemed to stretch on and on. Until finally Henry lifted his head and broke it. 'Who are you? I mean, what's your name?'

The man laughed softly. 'It's been a long time since anyone asked me that. I haven't used me name in over thirty years'.

Henry set his jaw determinedly. 'Fine. If you won't tell me your name, at least let me see your face. Please'.

There was a long pause. And just when Henry was sure the man was going to refuse, he moved forward, allowing the moonlight to fall on his face.

Henry breathed out sharply, his face transforming in shock. 'You…'

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_**So what do you think? A bit short I know, but the next chapter will hopefully be longer.**_

_**Please review! Constructive criticisms welcome, but please no flames. **_


	4. Lies and Revelations

_**Wow, this is really a record for me! I'm updating and it hasn't even been a week! **_

_**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. I'm so glad that you all decided to stick with this! **_

_**I've been itching to write this chapter ever since I first had the idea for this story. It was a bit rushed, and it hasn't been through beta, so I hope it lives up to expectations. **_

_**In this chapter, we finally find out what Cora's motive is, and the identity of the guard. I realise it was a *little* cruel to leave you where I did, so I tried to update as soon as possible.**_

_**Anyway, please read!**_

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_**Chapter 4 ~ Lies and Revelations**_

It was early morning by the time Cora visited them again. The four of them were wide awake; the anticipation had been killing them ever since that had woken up. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench attached to the back wall. First James, then Regina and Emma, and then Snow – their eyes fixed on the stairs descending from the level above. Emma was gripping Regina's hand tightly. Though Regina didn't know it, the three Charmings had come to an agreement late last night, once they had been sure the former Evil Queen was asleep. They'd all agreed that Regina could not take much more of Cora's abusive treatment, and that unless they did something to help it would come to a point where Regina might never recover. None of them were willing to watch her die. They had agreed that Snow would distract Cora and that Emma and James would attempt to subdue her. The best chance they had was to grab the dagger hanging around her neck. The guard's words were still ringing through their minds. _Whoever controls the dagger controls the Dark One._

So this was how Cora found them when she descended the stairs. She stopped at the door to their cell, eyes narrowing as she took in their united stance. She flung the door open, letting it clang harshly against the wall. 'Well well well, and what do we have here? You're not thinking of trying anything are you?'

Before any of the Charmings could make their move, Regina stood, wrenching her hand out of Emma's grasp as she did. The moment she stood, it became clear that there was something different about her. Her hands were clenched by her sides and her jaw was set in determination, her eyes alight with a new defiance. The three Charmings glanced at each other in astonishment; this was not part of their plan. Had Regina had enough? Did she actually want her mother to go too far?

Regina faced her mother, and there was no fear in her eyes. 'What do you want mother?' her tone was forceful and commanding, and Emma saw a flash of the mayor she had first met in her countenance.

Cora raised her eyebrows, clasping her hands in front of her. On her, it was a strangely threatening gesture. 'I don't know what you mean Regina dear. I'm trying to help – '

'Don't patronise me'. Regina cut her off with something like a snarl. 'You've never wanted to help me. All you've ever wanted is power for yourself. That's why you wanted me to become Queen, because as the Queen's mother you would have access to things otherwise beyond your reach. I will ask you once more. What. Do. You. Want. From. Me?' she punctuated each word clearly. She had gotten no sleep last night and she had had plenty of time to work out how she was going to do this. She wasn't sure exactly when during the night she had realised that she no longer feared her mother. Perhaps it was when she had realised that she had more to protect than just Henry, and that the more her mother hurt her the more of his innocence he lost. No matter how she tried to look at it, the people sitting behind her were her friends – not just her allies. She'd heard them plotting to save her last night. They had been willing to put their lives at risk for her, and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to do the same. Henry's last words to her filled her head, strengthening her. _You're not evil, mom. Under all that hate, you can be a good person. You have to promise me that you will try. Because if you can, if you can put aside your hate and do the right thing, then you have a chance at being a hero. I believe in you._

Cora frowned, realising that there was something about her daughter that was different. She held herself differently; like a Queen. Perhaps, in another time in another world, Cora might have felt proud. But any affection she had once been capable of feeling had rotted and shrivelled inside her long ago, long before Regina had been born. Now she felt nothing but anger and disgust at Regina's insolence.

Emma started as all the false sweetness fell away, her face twisting into an almost feral snarl. There was nothing left on Cora's face except bitterness and hatred. A cold shiver of apprehension flowed up the blonde's spine. _This is about to get ugly. _

'What do I want from you Regina?' Cora's voice was a snarl, all pretence at niceties gone. 'I'll tell you what I want. I want you to suffer, just as I suffered'.

Regina felt honestly bewildered. 'What have I ever done to you? All I ever did was try to please you as a child and all I ever wanted in return was one scrap of affection or love. And you were incapable of even giving me that'.

To everyone's surprise, Cora did not lash out with magic. Instead she said, in a dangerously soft voice, 'don't you remember the deal you made with Rumplestiltskin? He would cast a spell that would banish me to another place. In return, you would give him an amulet capable of summoning a wraith that was in my possession'.

Regina swallowed thickly. She had forgotten that part. She could already see where this was going. Cora continued, 'I don't know where you thought you were banishing me to, but I can assure you that it was not a pleasant place. Rumplestiltskin, who no doubt bore a grudge against me after I found a loophole in a deal with him, banished me to the place _between_ worlds'. She smiled thinly as horror washed over Regina's face. 'Yes dear, you know what that means. The place between worlds is the place the wraith in that amulet came from. It is the source of the Dark One's magic. It is a barren, black wasteland. It is inhabited by monsters to foul to remain in their own worlds, people who have lost their way and become stuck there, magicians banished there as punishment. Time does not pass there'.

There was a long silence. In all honesty, Regina actually felt bad for her mother. She could only imagine what it must have been like – trapped in a horrible un-ageing place like that. The people behind her felt something of the same. However, they also knew that if Regina backed down now, it would be all the worst off for them. They could see what she was doing now. They could see that she was trying to protect them, even if she was defending herself. Emma reached up and placed a hand on the small of Regina's back, trying to offer the brunette support.

Emma's touch brought Regina down to earth again, and it also alerted her to the current situation. She realised that if she backed down, she and the people behind her would be severally punished. It was clear now that Cora had no goal but to punish her. She had no choice to push forward, no matter how much it felt like she was standing on the edge of a precipice with a lake of molten lava below. Regina squared her shoulders. 'I am sorry for that mother. Truly I am. But you took my true love from me. I suffered for years by your hand as a child. I've been here for weeks. I think you've punished me enough. And the Charmings have nothing you want. They've never done anything to you. If you won't let me go, then let them go. They have no power – nothing you want'.

Cora shook her head slowly, her eyes glinting dangerously. 'They do have something Regina. They care for you. And you care for them, no matter how much you try to deny it. You loved Snow once, and if I left it too long your relationship with her would probably mend'. She tilted her head, her gaze thoughtful. 'You know, despite how much I dislike you - hate is such a un-lady like word – you did give me one thing when you banished me to that place. Magic. Powerful dark magic. It flows through that place like a sickness. I learnt how to harness it. I grew stronger with it. Of course, once I found out about the power of the Dark One I simply had to have it'. She glanced at Emma. 'I think I have you to thank for breaking the curse. The magic Rumplestiltskin brought here ripped open the doors between worlds, allowing me to make my way here'. She laughed a laugh that sent chills up their backs. 'You know, for all this talk of true love being the most powerful magic of all, I found no proof of that in my travels'.

Emma's temper, already dangerously thin, snapped. She stood up and stepped beside Regina, her eyes burning with anger as she glared at Cora. 'And yet, it was thanks to the power of true love that the curse was broken at all. Rumple brought magic here with a potion made from the essence of true love'. Even though she knew subconsciously that it was probably a bad move, she was sick of standing by while Cora abused Regina. _This is what friends are for, _she thought, _and it's about time Regina knew what that felt like. _

Regina shot her a warning glance. 'Emma…' she hissed. She wasn't exactly sure what she would do if Cora lashed out at Emma, but she had no desire to see the blonde get hurt. Even though she felt grateful that Emma was coming to her defence, she wished that the younger woman had held her tongue.

Cora gave Emma a long summarising look. Then she said slowly, as if speaking to a child, 'Love. Is. Weakness'.

'No it's not!' shouted Regina. Sparks crackled along her fingers. 'For all you say that, you know it's not true. You just want to believe that because you know that you are not capable of love! You're jealous of the people who are, and you take it out on them! You took it out on my father and you took it out on me. You couldn't stand the fact that I might actually find some happiness in my life! You killed a boy because he stood between you and your quest for power! Power is destructive mother; you should know that by now. _I _know it, and my goal in life was never to find power. The more you seek it out, the more of your soul withers and dies. Time does not heal all wounds – love does. I loved – I love my son. And in those years that he loved me I felt like I had a chance at a happy ending. And then, surprise surprise, you had to come along and rip him out of my life. All you've ever wanted is power. All I ever wanted was a happy ending.' Regina took a step towards her mother, and Snow and James stood with her, a silent support lending her strength. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, lending power and strength to her words.

There was a long silence. Cora's expression was inscrutable. The air was thick with tension, the walls thrumming with it. James felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. He had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next. Snow could feel it too. Her eyes were fixed on Regina. Her stepmother's shoulders were trembling. Emma had a strong desire to reach out and grasp Regina's hand. But she felt that if she even moved one muscle she would break the dam on whatever was building in the small cell. Regina – who realised that she just might have pushed her mother too far – cast several protective shields around herself and the Charmings. She might not fear her mother anymore, but she still feared what she could do.

Finally Cora spoke, in a voice so low and furious that they all took a step back. 'Fine. If you won't believe that love is weakness, I will show you'. Cora made a sudden movement and Regina flinched, expecting pain to rip through her body. But Cora had turned to the wall on their right, muttering a spell under her breath. As they watched, the wall shimmered and seemed to vanish completely, revealing the cell beyond. Cora turned back to them. 'This is what comes of love'.

But Regina was no longer listening. Her eyes were fixed on the boy in the other cell. _Henry_. He stood facing the now transparent wall, his eyes round with shock and trepidation. He looked dirty and tired, and there were tear tracks on his face, but he looked otherwise unharmed. His eyes met hers. He face lit up and he shouted something she couldn't hear, throwing himself towards her. He rebounded off the wall, and Regina's cry of outrage was echoed by the other three in the room. Regina was on her knees in front of Henry in a flash, Emma beside her, her hands pressed against the wall, heart pounding with relief at seeing Henry, and fear that he might have hurt himself.

Henry was saved from a painful fall by a man who had been in the cell with him. The man darted forward and caught Henry in his arms with extremely fast reflexes. He knelt on the floor, pulling Henry into his lap, his head bent over him. Henry opened his eyes and immediately looked for his family. Regina smiled at him, wishing she could tell him not to be frightened, wishing that he was as far away from this place as possible. But now that she knew where he was, there was a chance she could get him out. Her gaze moved to the man who had saved her son, who still had his arms wrapped protectively around the boy. The man's head was bent, so she couldn't see his face, but she recognised him as the guard who had brought them food by the armoured chest plate he wore. He wasn't wearing a helmet anymore, and she could see that he had messy dark brown hair. As if sensing her gaze, the man lifted his head slowly. Their eyes met.

Time seemed to stop. The world stopped spinning on its axis and exploded into a thousand fragments of reality. When it meshed back together, it was not the same. Everything else around her, her mother, Emma, Snow, James and even Henry, faded away. Nothing else mattered. All she could see, all her mind could focus on was the man kneeling on the other side of the wall, arms around her son, his eyes on hers.

It was Daniel.

_Daniel. _He was alive. How? How could it be possible? Despite the disbelief she felt, there was no doubt it was him. He was just as she remembered him; the same handsome face, the same warm, clear blue eyes – eyes full of such love and relief that she felt her heart surge. She knew it was no illusion. No trick of her mother's could make her heart spin and her world shatter like it just had.

She was dimly aware of Snow and James standing behind her, dimly aware of Snow's gasp of shock. Very slowly, as if waking from a dream, she turned her head and looked at her mother. 'I don't understand. You killed him. I watched you kill him'. She could hear the pleading note in her voice.

Cora smiled viciously, her eyes glinting with triumph. 'You foolish, foolish girl. You saw only what I wanted you to see. There are many forms of magic. You were so focused on the fact that he _looked _dead that you failed to see what I was doing. A simple spell of substitution while you weren't looking, a simple charm that made him appear dead. I used him in the years that you were queen. I sent him all over the Enchanted Forest, searching – and usually finding – sources of magic or magical artefacts. When Rumplestiltskin banished me, I latched onto him with my magic and took him with me. Daniel was a very useful servant during my time in the void'.

Regina's ears were ringing. Daniel was alive. He was there, nearly within her reach, and she had to almost physically stop herself from reaching through the wall towards him. The realisation hit like a ton of bricks. Everything, the curse, the deaths, all her want for revenge against Snow, had been for nothing. He had never died. For the first time since she had believed him dead, Regina was fully able to grasp that it was not her fault. All the guilt she had felt for his death washed out of her in a rush that left her breathless. It was replaced by a surge of desperate resolve. Cora had taken him from her once; she was not going to lose him again.

She reached out a hand and placed it on the transparent wall. Daniel, who had not taken his eyes off her since the moment when her world had shattered, immediately placed his hand over hers. Nothing separated them but the wall. Regina met his eyes once more. _I will get us out of this. _As if hearing her thoughts, Daniel smiled. His eyes were full of love and trust. His smile seemed to say, _I believe you. _

Henry was watching the exchange with an expression of triumph and relief. He knew that if there was anything that could get his mother motivated, it was the revelation that her lost lover was alive. Behind her, Snow was standing with her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. The boy whose death she had played a part in was alive. Her eyes filled with tears as their hands met over the wall. James, who had gathered exactly who Daniel was from the conversation and from the way Regina was acting, was standing with his fists clenched. He was also inching his way painstakingly slowly towards the door. If he could just get close enough to Cora to grab that dagger…

Emma, who was sorely tempted to strangle Cora after what she had just said, suddenly became aware of a tension in Regina's body. The brunette's eyes were squeezed shut, the hand that was not pressed against the wall balled into a fist by her side. Her chest was heaving and the vein on her head was standing out. Waves of energy and power were flowing from her body. Emma glanced at Cora. The Dark One was watching Regina's face with an expression of fiendish glee. She was clearly enjoying the effect of her revelation. She didn't seem to be aware of the struggle inside her daughter.

Ever since they had been captured, Regina had been struggling to not lash out instinctively with the magic inside her. It had been threatening to burst out of her ever since she had discovered what had happened to Henry. And now, with the realisation that Daniel was alive, and what Cora probably intended to do to him, the magic had sprung up like a roaring bonfire inside her. The power thrummed through her veins even as she tried to reign it in. It was alive and real and angry, and she was losing the battle to keep it under control. In desperation, she cast out shields around herself and the Charmings, around Henry and Daniel. She tried to focus on them, hoping that the storm would ease a bit. But if anything, now that she had released it, it became even harder to control. Regina knew that if she didn't let it out it would tear out of her forcefully, destroying her from the inside out. Sensing that this scenario was becoming more and more eminent by the second, Regina checked the shields. She could feel Emma's hand on her shoulder and Snow's on her back. She concentrated on them, on James, who had apologised to her even though she had tried to destroy his happiness. She conjured up their faces in her mind, along with Henry's and Daniel's. She concentrated her entire being on the people she cared about. Then she took a deep breath and let go of her magic.

The room exploded.

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_**And that ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the story.**_

_**Just joking! I would never end a story that way! A chapter is one thing, but a story! Pft!**_

_**Anyway, what do you think? Do you think that Daniel being alive is too far-fetched? What do you think that what happened to Cora is too weird? **_

_**And yes, the amulet mentioned is the one that was in the season two premiere (which by the way was amazing). I noticed that when Rumple pulled the amulet out, Regina instantly seemed to recognise it. I figured that if Cora was interested in dark magic, then she might have had several magical items. So I had the idea that the amulet originally belonged to Cora and that Regina made a deal with Rumple to get rid of her mother in exchange for this amulet. **_

_**By the way, I personally don't think that the Charmings standing up for Regina is far-fetched. They are good people, and it's the kind of thing they would probably do. Also, I think that in this kind of situation Emma and Regina could become friends. I don't know, I like the idea of them being friends. **_

_**Please review and let me know what you think!**_


	5. Shared Tears

_**And here, after a long and annoying writers block, it the fifth chapter! I hope you all liked the last one, and that you like that Daniel is alive. Everything comes to a head in this chapter, and we also find out a bit more about what happened to Rumple. **_

_**Okay, so I'm not sure how this one turned out. I struggled with it at first, and then a little later it all came pouring out, so I'm not sure if it's written very well. As with the last two, this one has not been through beta.**_

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. (I thought I should probably start to put a disclaimer up).**_

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_**Warning: this chapter contains violence and mentions of sexual abuse that may not be suitable for some people.**_

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_**Hope you enjoy it! Please leave a review!**_

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_**Chapter 5 ~ Shared Tears**_

She was blind. She couldn't see anything. There was a high pitched ringing sound in her ears. She felt empty, spent, as if something inside her had shattered. The ground beneath her was shaking, and a roaring filled her head like the thunder of an avalanche.

Hands grasped her shoulders, lifting her up. Arms held her securely, cradling her against a strong chest, pulling her out of the rubble. She felt warm, yet cold at the same time. Her nose was full of the scent of leather and pine needles. _Daniel. _

Regina could feel herself struggling to wake up. She was vaguely aware that someone was shouting her name. She fought harder to wake, not caring if it cost the little strength she had left. She had to see him at least one more time, just to make sure that it hadn't been her imagination.

Her eyes opened. Everything was fuzzy, and she had to blink rapidly to clear her vision. Daniel was bending over her, his blue eyes full of fear, his expression worried and concerned. Dust had settled in his hair and on his shoulders, but he seemed unhurt. 'Regina!' her hearing returned abruptly, and her ears were filled with the cacophony of falling masonry.

Her hand was trembling as she lifted it to touch his face. Her long elegant fingers slid over his cheek delicately, skimming over his lips and his eyes, tracing the familiar features. _This is real. He's really alive. _Her hand tangled in his hair and she slid her other arm around his neck. She didn't kiss him, but she pulled herself up with all of her strength and hugged him. His strong arms wrapped around her back, pressing her body against his. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply. _This _was what she had missed the most, what she had craved for over thirty years. The way he could make her feel safe and loved just by holding her. She wanted this to last a life time, but she knew that it couldn't. She could feel that her mother was still there, that she was gathering her strength. Regina was sensible enough to know that she would have to let him go.

She pulled away reluctantly. She stared up into his eyes, trying to drink all of him in at once. 'I will get us out of this', she vowed quietly.

He smiled and she felt something flutter deep inside her chest. She had almost forgotten what his smiles could do to her. He kissed her forehead quickly, 'I know. I believe in you'. He wanted so much to kiss her, to feel her lips on his. He wanted to pick her up and carry her to safety, away from the threat of her mother. But he could do neither. He held her tightly to his chest as he stood up, righting her on her feet.

There was so much more that they both wanted to say to each other. But for now, a promise was all they had time for. Regina swayed slightly. Though she wouldn't admit it, the cost of releasing her magic whilst ensuring that the people she cared about were kept from harm had left her greatly weakened.

The cell that had held them for three weeks was in ruins. The walls had crumbled and collapsed, the door blown outwards, and they could feel the warmth of the sun on their backs. A hole had been blasted in the two walls on either side, and the entire front wall was gone. The air smelt of smoke and apples.

James and Snow were helping Emma out of a pile of rubble. The three of them seemed unhurt, though each of them was covered in a thick layer of dust that turned their hair prematurely grey. Regina walked over to them and grasped Emma by the elbow, helping to heavy her up from the ground. Emma looked into her eyes, concern written all over her features. Regina was almost deathly pale, and she was swaying from side to side. Daniel had one hand one her shoulder, keeping her upright. James and Snow had noticed too. Snow suddenly realised that if Cora attacked them now, Regina would probably be unable to defend them in her current state.

Just as she had that thought, the temperature in the room dropped noticeably. Regina's eyes widened and she said urgently, 'we have to get out of here. Right now'.

James looked around, fear suddenly clouding his eyes. 'Where's Henry?'

Horror. Fear. That was all Regina could feel as she searched the remains of the cell with her eyes, desperate for a glimpse of her son. If Cora got her hands on him she wouldn't hesitate to kill him, even if he was just a boy.

'MOM!' the scream of pure terror came from the corridor outside the cell. Regina ran towards the sound, ignoring her body's screams of protest.

The blast of magic had reached the corridor as well. Piles of rubble lay scattered on the cracked stone floor. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina could see that the doors to the other cells were opening.

And then she saw what was happening, and her heart stopped. Henry was suspended in the air, at least four feet above the ground, his arms pinned to his sides. It was so horribly familiar that for a moment she was unable to move. She was frozen to the ground, her legs refusing to budge. It took her a fraction of a second to realise that she _couldn't _move. Her legs were wrapped in a shimmering veil of dark purple magic. Emma skidded to a halt beside her, along with James, Snow and Daniel, and they found themselves in the same predicament.

Cora appeared in a cloud of purple smoke. She walked towards Henry, making tutting noises under her breath. 'Really Regina dear I don't know what you hoped to accomplished by that little stunt'.

Emma struggled against the magic the bound her limbs. 'Stay away from him!' the anger in her voice was tinged with desperation.

Cora laughed. It was the most terrifying sound they had heard yet. Cora stepped up to her grandson and placed at hand on his shoulder. She cast a glance over at Regina. Regina was not struggling against her bonds. Instead, she was working on summoning her replenishing magic. Cora smirked at the terrified expression on her daughter's face. Her dead eyes bored into Henry's skull. 'Say good bye to your family, little Henry'. And she reached her hand up towards Henry's chest.

Several things happened at once. Cora's hand touched the boy's small chest and went through it. Henry threw his head back and screamed in agonising pain as Cora's fingers brushed against his heart. The onlookers screamed in horror. And a cry of fury and fear tore from Regina's lips.

The sight of her son in pain, the knowledge of what her mother intended to do, brought her magic surging to the surface. She wasn't aware of the pressure on her legs disappearing. She forgot about her magic. She forgot that Cora had the power of the Dark One. All she knew was that her son's life was in danger. That was all that mattered.

Regina, free from the binds on her legs, tackled Cora. Caught off guard by the physical contact, Cora was unable to stop herself from hitting the ground hard, with her daughter on top. The spells binding the Charmings, Henry and Daniel, disappeared. Henry plummeted towards the ground, fighting to stay conscious. There was a dull ache in his heart. Snow caught her grandson before he hit the ground. She backed away, putting some distance between the weakened boy and Cora.

Cora's scream of rage was cut of abruptly as Regina hit her hard across the face. Regina's bruised and battered face had transformed. The Evil Queen had surfaced. Regina hit out as hard as she could, snarling, 'don't ever touch my son again!'

Cora lashed out, her nails raking savagely down Regina's neck. Ignoring the stinging pain, Regina made a grab for the dagger around her mother's neck. Cora hit out, catching Regina in the jaw, and Regina's hands slipped, fastening instead around Cora's throat.

In the struggle, the chains broke. The dagger and the caged heart soured through the air, the chains arching up, glinting in the sunlight. Emma dived forwards and grabbed the dagger, her mind only set on stopping Cora. James lunged and snatched the heart out of the air by the chain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sword lying in a pile of rubble. Cora had kept it just outside the cell, taunting their helplessness. He was distracted by something else though. They had an audience. Figures hiding in the shadows were watching the fight between Cora and Regina. They looked frightened. James wasn't sure what they were more scared about; what Cora would do next, or the expression on Regina's face.

Daniel seized Regina's shoulders and pulled her off her mother, his only thought to get her as far away from those reaching, heart crushing hands as possible. At his touch, the viciousness of the Evil Queen vanished from Regina's face. He could feel her trembling violently from a mixture of rage and fear.

Cora leapt to her feet, eyes blazing. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and she had a very nasty black eye. But if anything, it just made her look more terrifying. Purple magic, almost black in colour, gathered in her hands.

'Regina, catch!' Emma threw the dagger towards Regina. She wasn't sure why she had decided to give it to Regina, but she knew that if anyone had the right to destroy the Dark One, it was Regina, no matter how twisted that sounded.

Regina caught the dagger and levelled it at her mother. 'Don't move', she hissed quietly.

Cora froze, the magic vanishing from her palms. She stared at Regina for a moment. Then, to everyone's surprise, she smiled. 'Do you really think you could do it, Regina?' Her voice was mocking, scorning.

Regina stepped closer. Her expression was sharp and ferocious. The Evil Queen was there, behind her eyes. In that state, Snow suddenly realised that Regina _would_ kill her mother. Cora had made a grave mistake. In threatening Henry, she had unleashed the heartless woman who had killed her father, the woman who wouldn't hesitate to kill the person who had destroyed her life. Snow wasn't sure what to do. The Regina she had once known, the Regina she had become familiar with in the past few weeks, would feel incredibly guilty if she did do it. She cast a helpless glance at James and Emma. The three Charmings were standing in a protective stance, shielding Henry from view. James's brow was furrowed in concern. His thoughts ran more towards Regina's condition. She was in the grip of the Evil Queen at the present, but once she snapped out of it, there was a good chance that her body would finally cave in under all the stress. And if she snapped out of it before they dealt with Cora…

Emma was staring at Regina, her expression shocked and a little fascinated. She'd heard people speak of the Evil Queen, how heartless she was, how brutal and merciless, how she had killed her own father for the sake of the curse. She hadn't really been able to believe it, not while she was looking at the Regina she had come to know. That Regina was not heartless. She was a woman who had been hurt badly in her life, a woman who had been used for the purpose of others. And even in her worst moments, she had always been a woman who had feared losing her son. Yet, looking at her now, Emma started to understand why people had feared her so much. It also made her realise how much the former mayor had changed. She was beginning to regret giving Regina the dagger.

Henry was peering out from between Snow and James, his hands clutching the material of his grandfather's pants. He flinched at the expression on his mom's face. For the first time in his life, he actually realised that he was afraid of her. In all that time he had obsessed over the book, he had never once been afraid of Regina, because she was still his mom and he had known deep down that she loved him. But this wasn't the woman who had raised him. This was the Evil Queen, malicious, cruel, and thoroughly pissed off. He'd heard the expression 'to save someone from themselves', and now he understood the meaning behind it. He had to save his mom, save her from turning back into that woman in his story book. And to do that, he had to make sure she didn't kill her mother. He had to tell her that he loved her.

Regina's eyes had darkened, becoming closer in appearance to her mothers. 'Do you think I couldn't?' her voice was low and threatening, and the smile slid from Cora's face. She could see the difference in her daughter; see that she was not joking. Cora had never met the Evil Queen, and she'd always wondered how her daughter had gained such a fierce reputation when she still cowered at the mere sight of her own mother. Now, gazing at Regina's positively predatory expression, she began to understand exactly what she had done to her daughter. She felt something…unfamiliar twist in her chest.

The tip of the dagger was pressed against Cora's neck now. Regina was radiating a sense of destructive anger and power. 'Do you think that I wouldn't hesitate to cut your throat, after all you've done to me? You made me believe that the man I loved was dead. You forced me into a loveless marriage for your own gain. You forced me to marry a man who abused me, who shared my bed when the memory of his dead wife became too much to bear'. For the first time, Regina's voice wavered. 'Do you know what he did to me, mother? You talk about the sacrifices you had to make, but _nothing_ that you went through could possibly compare to what I had to endure at his hands'.

Snow covered her mouth in shock and horror as she realised what Regina was saying. She was unable to take her eyes off her step-mother, even as the tears pricked her eyes. The man she had worshiped, who in her eyes could do no wrong, had done unspeakable things to Regina. Bile rose in her throat and she felt like she was going to be sick. Her father might have cherished her, but now she felt like he was a stranger. A monster.

Regina was breathing heavily. The tip of the dagger nicked at Cora's skin. Cora craned her neck away from the sharp tip. 'And now…now you try to kill my son. Give me one reason, one _bloody_ reason why I shouldn't kill you!' her voice rose to a high-pitched shriek of fury.

It was Daniel who came to Cora's rescue. He touched Regina on the shoulder. 'Regina stop'. Regina went still, her expression blank. 'Don't do this. Don't give her the satisfaction. You know what happens if you kill her. Do you want that much darkness in your life again? I know that she deserves to die after what she's done…but you don't deserve to suffer anymore at her expense'.

A sob escaped Regina's lips. The dagger trembled in her hand. Right battled with wrong inside her chest. The Evil Queen battled with the woman who wanted redemption. The murder battled the mother. Henry spoke up, seeing the turmoil in his mother's eyes. 'Mum…please? I don't want to lose you again'. He wanted to say more, but the words wouldn't form on his tongue. He just had to hope it was enough.

Regina's eyes cleared. She had Daniel and she had Henry. They loved her, and that was all that mattered. Daniel was right; if she killed Cora, her mother would have won. Deep inside her, the Evil Queen lost.

Cora, seeing the change in Regina's expression, allowed herself to smirk, inwardly relieved. She had thought, just for a moment, that Regina had been going to kill her. Regina looked up, saw the smirk, and made a split second decision. The only warning Cora had was Regina's eyes flicking briefly to the wall beside her. Regina spun and slammed the dagger into a narrow crack that had appeared after the explosion. Then, gripping the handle tightly in her hands, she threw her entire weight against it, her magic lending her an unnatural strength. The dagger snapped in half. A single, pure note hung in the air for a second. And then the dark magic trapped inside the dagger rushed out of it. The force of the blast knocked Regina off balance, throwing her into Daniel's waiting arms.

Cora screamed. It was a scream of horror and fear and pain. Dark magic exploded out of her in a burst of purple smoke. It twisted and furled around her, billowing outwards. The watchers were forced to cover their eyes. The darkness was blinding.

And then it vanished, twisting inwards on itself. Cora was still standing, her head thrown back. Her eyes were bleeding black tears. Cora looked at Regina. They stared at each other. Mother and daughter. Shadow and light. Hate and hope. The love of power, the power of love. The fallen witch, the shattered queen. They were so alike, and yet so different.

Time slowed, gathering to a single point in existence. Everything stood on the edge of a knife, suspended in the balance. Cora had two choices. She could leave, or she could push forward and destroy her daughter. She could fall into a black void, or she could fight her way to redemption. For a moment, something deep in her blackened heart stirred and lifted its scarred head.

But there was only so far you could go before it became impossible to turn back. There was nothing left for Cora, no life to return to, no love to save her. There was no one to reach a hand out to her and pull her out of the depths, no one whose hand she would accept. She did not have the will to turn back.

Regina stood before her, arms spread wide. Daniel stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder. It was all very familiar. She'd faced this choice before, back in another world. Power or love. Give her daughter power, or let her be happy.

A snarl twisted Cora's mouth. She'd taken her daughter's love, and now her daughter had taken away her power, taken away the only thing that mattered to her. But she still had some magic left. She thrust her hand outwards. Regina and Daniel hit the wall behind them and remained suspended there. She waved her hand at the Charmings, who found themselves in a similar predicament. She glared at her daughter, squeezing her hand hard, watching as the young woman struggled for breath. She watched as the light began to fade from Regina's eyes. She couldn't hear Daniel screaming for her daughter, couldn't hear the frightened cries of the ten year old boy behind her. She couldn't hear Snow and James shouting at her to stop, couldn't hear their begging. She couldn't hear the abuse the blonde girl was shouting at her. Her entire being was fixed on her daughter. Her heart no longer had any power over her head. The little of her heart that was still able to feel had suffered too much damage to force her to release her daughter.

Regina couldn't breathe. Spots were dancing in front of her eyes, a blackness creeping around her vision. The little strength that remained in her battered body was not enough to summon her magic. She was dying. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Abruptly, the pressure on her chest vanished and the magic pinning them to the wall disappeared. She dropped to the ground, coughing violently, hands at her chest, desperately trying to get her body to breathe in a sufficient amount of air. Daniel was beside her, holding her shoulders. But his attention was fixed somewhere else. Regaining her ability to breathe, Regina lifted her head, searching for the source of his distraction.

Cora stood in the same position, staring down in shock. The tip of a very sharp and bloodied sword protruded from centre of her chest. The sword was pulled free and blood flowed freely from the gaping wound.

Snow covered Henry's eyes hastily, unable to tear her own away. Cora put her hands up to her chest. Her hands were immediately stained scarlet. She lifted her head and looked directly at her daughter. Her expression was bemused. Her lips moved as if to say something, and blood leaked out of her mouth. Cora's knees gave way and she crashed to the floor, coughing violently.

Belle clutched Charming's sword in a trembling, white knuckled hand. She looked shocked, as if she couldn't quite believe what she had just done. Her eyes found Regina's. Regina's lips were parted slightly. This was the girl that she had locked in an asylum for twenty eight years. This was the girl who had given herself up to save her people. The girl who had seen something no one else had seen in Rumplestiltskin. The girl who had loved him. Regina suddenly remembered what Cora had said when she had asked how she had managed to kill the Dark One. Cora had laughed and said, _'as I've told you countless times Regina, love is weakness. The imp sacrificed himself so that I wouldn't kill the woman he loved'. _Rumple had died so that Belle could live. Cora had locked Belle up afterwards, and had probably spent the next few weeks taunting the girl about her love for someone that many would call a monster. Once again, Cora had underestimated the power of love. And she'd paid the ultimate price. Regina found herself nodding at Belle, and smiling slightly, but she felt suddenly numb. Belle returned the smile, albeit hesitantly, and then backed away.

Without knowing what she was doing, Regina crawled across the floor to the dying woman. Her mother. The woman who had tormented her as a child, destroyed her innocence, and spent the last few weeks torturing her.

Regina kneeled by her mother's head and turned her over so that she could see her face. Cora's eyes were open and alive, but the life was quickly leaving her body with her blood. Regina stared into her mother's cold black eyes. Had those eyes ever looked at her with an ounce of love? She couldn't be sure. She didn't know what to feel. Should she feel happy that her mother was dying? Should she feel triumphant that she had won, and her mother had lost? What were you meant to feel towards a woman who had ruined part of your life when they had brought you into the world? Without warning, words started to pour from her mouth. 'I loved you, you know. When I was a child, I thought that it was the way things happened. Daddy never objected, so I had no reason to think otherwise. And then I saw other children, saw how their parents treated them, and I began to think that there was something wrong with me, that I somehow deserved what you did to me. And even later, when Daniel showed me how wrong I was, I still loved you, still wanted you to love me in return. And then you 'killed' him, and I began to hate you. But still, when Rumplestiltskin offered me a chance to get rid of you, I told him that I loved you. It wasn't until later, after I had suffered at the King's hands, after I found my love for Snow dwindling, that I started to hate you'. Regina wasn't sure where the words were coming from, or what had possessed her to talk, all she knew was that they poured out of her mouth as thick and fast as the tears coursing down her face.

'Did you ever love me? Did you even care for me? I want to believe that you did, that you were just corrupted. We're quite similar you know. You destroyed my life in your quest for power. I destroyed dozens of lives in my search for a happy ending'. Regina brushed her hand over her mother's cheek, pushing the hair off her face. Her cheek was cold to the touch. Cora was watching her daughter, her breathing shallow. How she was still alive, Regina wasn't sure. 'And yet, I have to thank you for one thing. If you hadn't set me on the path I walked, the one that lead to me casting the curse, I wouldn't have come here. I wouldn't have Henry'. She looked up at her son, the boy who had been her salvation. Henry felt his heart wrench at her miserable expression. Regina looked back at her mother. 'And because of that, I can forgive you for what you did. I can forgive you for taking Daniel, for forcing me to marry a man who didn't love me. I can forgive you for turning my love for Snow bitter. I forgive you, even if you can't forgive me, because I can'. Her face crumpled. 'I never wanted you to suffer. I don't know what happened to you to turn you against me, against the world, but I never wanted to play any part in that. I wouldn't have agreed to Rumple's deal if I had known that you would go there, to that place. I…I'm sorry, mother, I am so so sorry'. She covered her mouth, tears cascading down her face.

For a moment, for one second in space and time, Cora's eyes changed. The empty blackness drained out of her irises and Regina found herself looking into deep brown, compassionate orbs. Cora's lips moved, forming silent words. Regina leaned forward, her tears splashing down onto her mother's face. But she would never know what Cora had wanted to say. Cora's eyes remained staring at Regina, clouded over in death. Regina closed her eyes and hunched over herself, hands pressed to her face, trying to contain her tears.

Daniel didn't know what to do. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her and tell her that it was all alright, but he couldn't. Because it wasn't alright, it was _so _far from alright. It was twisted and wrong and heartbreaking. He loved Regina, but he couldn't say that he wasn't pleased that Cora was gone from their lives. He had never seen her as anything but evil. He'd never had wanted her love. And he knew Regina well enough to know that right now she did need someone who understood how she felt. He looked helplessly at the others. He could tell, just by the expressions on their faces that they felt just as helpless. James looked miserable, and his eyes were bright with unshed tears. He was gripping Emma's hand tightly. Emma looked wretched, her lip was trembling, and for the first time she looked like a little girl. She'd never felt so sorry for Regina as she did in that moment. Henry was crying freely, hiding his face against Emma. He hated hearing how sad his mother was, how broken.

It was Snow that stepped forward. Tears slid down her snow white face, but she looked resolved. Because she did understand, in a way, how Regina felt. She had loved her step-mother. She could still remember a time when Regina had cared for her; still remember when the older woman had rocked her to sleep as a child. Regina's words rang true in her heart. Because, as much as she had wanted the Evil Queen out of her life, as much as she had wanted her gone, she would have done anything to have the woman who had once cared for her back. And she'd never wanted her dead, not until she took the potion of Rumple's. When the curse had broken, her only thought had been to protect Regina from the angry mob, because she had recognised the Regina she had once known in Mary Margaret's memories.

Snow touched Daniel's arm and said quietly, 'take Henry, please, he shouldn't have to see this'. Daniel opened his mouth to protest. She silenced him by raising her hand, looking like the queen she had once been. 'Please. I'll take care of Regina. I do understand, in part, how she feels. Nothing's going to happen to her. I know you love her, but right now I think she needs someone who understands'.

Daniel hesitated, but then nodded, recognising the truth of Snow's words. He stepped forwards and picked the little boy up. Henry immediately wrapped his arms around Daniel's neck. If Regina loved Daniel, then Henry trusted him completely. Snow gave James a long look. They had moved beyond verbal words long ago. James nodded and bent to pick up his sword from where Belle had dropped it. He looked at Emma. 'Go with Daniel. Find the others. They probably heard the explosion, and the faeries would have felt the surge of magic. Tell them what happened here'.

Emma stared at her father. 'What are you going to do?'

James cast a glance over at the crowd. 'I'm going to make sure that all the cells opened. Take these people out of here too'.

Emma cast a glance at Regina's crumpled form before nodding and turning to Daniel. Daniel led the way up the stairs, glancing back at Regina frequently, holding Henry tightly in his arms. They had formed something of a bond in the cell, and while they might not know each other very well, they were connected by their love for Regina. The onlookers, including Belle, followed them.

Snow crouched down beside Regina and touched her shoulder tentatively. Regina looked up at her. The expression of pure sorrow and loss on her step-mother's face pierced deep into Snow's heart. She didn't think twice. She shifted closer and wrapped her arms around Regina, pulling the older woman against her shoulder. Regina stiffened automatically. But then she gave in. There was nothing to hide anymore, no reason to push Snow away. Hadn't she just been talking about how she had once loved her step-daughter? Perhaps she still could. Perhaps that had been the reason why she had never been able to actually kill her.

And so Regina wrapped her arms around Snow's waist and allowed her tears to fall. She cried for Daniel, for the years he had spent in her mother's grip. She cried for her stolen childhood, the loss of her innocence. She cried because of what Leopold had done to her. She cried for Snow, a pawn in her mother's game. She cried for Henry, and for his namesake. And she sobbed bitterly for her mother. She sobbed because she had loved her, because she couldn't be glad that she was dead. All of it, the bitterness, the sorrow, poured out of her, soaking Snow's ragged shirt with salt tears.

And soon Snow was crying, her face hidden in Regina's hair, inhaling the smell of apples and cinnamon she remembered from her childhood. She cried for all the lost years between them. She cried for the woman her father had hurt. She cried for the young girl that had once saved her life. She shed tears because her family was whole and safe again. She cried because there was hope; hope for Regina and for their lost relationship. She cried because it was what needed to be done.

In the midst of her tears, Regina lifted her head and whispered into Snow's ear. 'I'm sorry Snow, I'm sorry for everything'. She needed to say it, she had to, because she was and she needed her step-daughter to know that. Something twisted and broke free in her heart.

The Evil Queen was gone for good.

The two women held each other tightly, their bodies shaking with the force of their gut wrenching sobs. Soon, it was hard to tell who was comforting who. They clung to each other like survivors from a shipwreck. And the only witness to their sorrow was the eyes of a dead woman, the woman who had caused most of their grief and who they were partly mourning for. The stone around them was wet with blood and tears.

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_**So what do you think?**_

_**Just to clear a few things up, as you may have missed them. Rumple died because Cora threatened Belle. He let her kill him to save her. That was his redemption. Belle killed Cora in revenge. I don't think this is too far-fetched, as I think Belle is a very strong willed girl and very well might have done it. As for the dagger, I think that that was probably the source of the Dark One's power, and once destroyed the Dark One would lose the power gained from it and it would be possible to kill that person without the dagger.**_

_**Now, I hope that I described what Regina and Cora felt well enough. I think that in this situation, Regina would grieve, that she would be upset and unsure how she's meant to feel. And I agree with some people who say that the Evil Queen and Regina are two very different people, and that Regina struggles to contain the Evil Queen, much the same way with Mr Gold/Rumplestiltskin. I think that seeing Henry threatened would bring the Evil Queen out, and that love is the only thing that can stop the Evil Queen – the only thing that can destroy her. **_

_**As for Cora, I think that if offered the chance of redemption, she would inevitably choose to not take it. Redemption requires having something to redeem yourself for, and Cora doesn't have that. As for what happened just before she died, that is for you to make up your mind about. **_

_**And the part with Regina and Snow…well I feel that, once they got over their hate for each other, this might happen. This Regina doesn't hate Snow, and Snow understands that the Evil Queen and Regina are two different people. I think that because if it was otherwise, they probably would have actually tried to kill each other, and that hasn't happened yet. **_

_**Oh and by the way, Daniel still definitely loves Regina, he just understands that Snow is the only person who understands how she is feeling right now. **_

_**This is not the end of the story, so I hope you continue to read!**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think! As always, **__**constructive**__** criticism is welcome. **_

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	6. Nightmares

_**I am so sorry for the late update! Work just seriously started to pile on and then I had a writer's block *shakes fist*, and it all kind of escalated. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, they were really encouraging! **_

_**I hope you all like this chapter! Please Review!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6 ~ Nightmares**_

Emma sat in one of the secluded eating booths at Granny's, cradling her son gently against her chest. It was still such a foreign feeling, as she'd barely had any time to get used to it in the days leading up to their capture. And before that she'd barely been able to see her son. Henry sat in her arms, his face buried in her shoulder, her blonde hair tickling his face. His eyes were wide and open, even though his body was exhausted. He had no wish to go to sleep, not when he had been so sure that he was going to lose his entire family, including his knew found mother. He no longer saw either Emma or Regina as his adopted mother and his biological mother. They were both his mothers. And let anyone who thought otherwise suffer in silence.

Though that wasn't the only reason he was reluctant to shut his eyes. He could still see _her_ behind his eyelids. He could still see her manic grin as she tortured his mum. He could still see her expression of glee as she plunged her hand into his chest; still feel the dull ache as her fingers touched his heart.

He could still see the expression of horror on her face as she stared down at the sword protruding from her own chest. His mind was full of images of blood and scars, of tears and pain.

He could still see the expression of pure misery on Regina's face as she bent over her mother's body.

Once, he had assumed that when evil was defeated it would be a time for celebration and joy, of laughter and light. He had thought that you would feel triumphant, happy. Once, when he had thought about defeating the Evil Queen, or ridding the woman who had raised him of the evil corrupting her soul, he had felt a thrill of exhilaration and expectation.

It was only now that he understood exactly how childish fairy tales were. Was anything purely evil? He couldn't be sure. He couldn't even see Rumplestiltskin as being evil, not when he knew that the only reason they were alive was due to the love Rumple had had for Belle, and the love that had been returned.

He shifted his head to the side slightly, searching for her. Belle was sitting at a stool at the counter, cradling a steaming cup of something in her hands, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was staring at something on the counter in front of her. Henry squinted, trying to see what it was. Belle moved to the side slightly and Henry saw what it was. A small tea cup, with a tiny chip on the rim.

Emma felt Henry shift slightly and wrapped her arms around him tighter, trying to offer him some security. At that moment, Daniel joined them. The former stable boy slid into the booth and moved closer to them, setting two cups down in front of them. Emma sniffed, her stomach rumbling in anticipation as the aroma of cinnamon and coco filled her nose. She set Henry down beside her, in between her and Daniel, and handed him his cup before picking up her own. She drank from it slowly, savouring the taste, regarding Daniel curiously over the top of her glass. It was the first time she had really been able to study him.

Though she didn't know that much about his personality, she could see what was attractive about him. He was tall, lean and muscular, with dark hair and bright blue eyes. He had a very handsome face and he bore himself with a certain confidence that showed he knew what his limitations were and was comfortable with them. Currently, he was gazing out the window. There was a sort of desperation in his eyes, a longing and concern, and she knew exactly what it was directed at.

'She'll be fine, Daniel. She's just been through a lot'. Her voice sounded strangely horse and false.

Daniel shifted his gaze reluctantly to her, smiling slightly. 'I know…it's just…it's been so long since…' he shook himself. 'I haven't really had time to process the fact that she's actually alive'.

Emma felt her eyebrows go up. 'You thought she was dead?'

Daniel sighed heavily. 'No, Cora made sure I knew what I was missing, what my absence had done to Regina. But I was trapped in another world, or a void between worlds for that matter. Cora had ways of watching what was going on in the enchanted forest, of what was happening here. You have to understand; I didn't think that we would ever get out of there; I _hoped_ that we would never escape. I knew that the moment we did, Regina would be in danger. In some ways, thinking – preying that we would never escape, meant that I had to try and force myself to believe that she _was_ dead. It was the only thing that made the separation bearable. And now…now she's alive and I just want…' he trailed off. He ran a hand through his hair, his expression distressed and vulnerable. There was no need to for Emma to use her special gift; Daniel wore no mask to conceal his emotions. Perhaps it was that that made him so compelling.

She reached over and placed what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'Hey, I get it. You want her to be safe. You want to protect her, even though you've spent so long apart and you know that you can't do anything to erase what has happened'.

Daniel smiled gratefully at her. Henry leaned into him slightly, showing his own support and Daniel looked down at him, smiling fondly. He reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. 'Aren't you tired Henry?'

The boy sniffed, placing his cup down on the table. His expression told Daniel every possible answer to that question. He frowned. 'You don't want to sleep, do you?'

Henry shook his head, his jaw set. He didn't want to voice his fears. After everything that had happened, he felt that he needed to be strong, especially for his mom. When she returned he needed to prove to her that he did really love her. Emma put an arm around him, her expression concerned and a little helpless; she'd had no experience with this sort of thing.

Daniel looked at Henry for a long time. Then he bent down and reached into his boot. After a moment of searching, there was a ripping sound and he straightened. He was holding a small object in his hand, wrapped in dark cloth and secured by a piece of string. There was rough stitching around the edges of the cloth, stitching that had once been used to secure the package to the inside of Daniel's boot. Daniel pulled the string off and reached inside. He clenched his fist momentarily around the small object before he extended his hand to Henry. He uncurled his fingers slowly, almost as if he was reluctant to part with the object. Henry leaned forward and Emma craned her neck to look over his head at it. Resting in the palm of Daniel's hand was a small silver pendant and chain. The pendant was beautifully crafted, depicting a galloping horse. Its hair was carved so that it blew out behind it, its legs arching up, its tail flying. It was polished so that it gleamed brightly under the lights. The chain was thin and delicate, and there was a small clear crystal set in to the chain, about two centimetres above the pendant.

Henry stared at it and then reached out to pick it up, letting it hang by its chain at eye level, his gaze rapt and reverent. There was something uncannily beautiful about the simplicity of the engraving.

Daniel smiled a little at the boy's expression. 'It was your mother's'. Henry snapped gaze up to him, his eyes questioning. 'I gave it to her the day I first told her that I loved her. It cost me every penny I had earned, but it was worth it. The crystal is said to be enchanted with certain qualities, one of which is meant to induce calm and peacefulness within a person. It should help, with the…dreams. I want you to have it'.

Henry's eyes widened if possible even further. 'Are you sure?' he breathed. 'Shouldn't you give it to mum?'

'How did you get it? I mean, if you gave it to her before Cora…separated you?' Emma inquired, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Daniel's smile vanished, replaced by a look of anger and pain. 'I was under Cora's control for roughly ten years before we went to the void. If I ever did something wrong, if I ever tried to warn Regina, to tell her that I was alive, or if I returned from somewhere without the object she had sent me to retrieve, she punished me. And not just by squeezing my heart. She would let me into Regina's room, alone, at night. I would be allowed to look at her, but I couldn't do anything, I couldn't touch her or talk to her. One night I took this from her jewellery box. I needed some part of her to keep with me. It helped me to get through those ageless years in the void. I think that I hoped that she would recognise that something wasn't right, in the sense that I was the only person that knew what this meant to her. But I think that she just assumed that it was her mother'.

He turned his attention back to Henry and took the pendant from him. He hung it around Henry's neck, letting it fall to rest just above his heart. He took Henry's hand and pressed it over the pendant. Immediately, Henry felt the tension in his muscles ease. He felt the horrific images flee to the back of his mind as calm settled over his body. He yawned widely. Daniel smiled. 'Keep it. Regina would want you to have it. And I don't plan to be separated from her again'.

In response, Henry closed his hand around the pendant, almost in a promise. Then his eyes closed and he slumped forward onto Daniel's lap. Daniel shifted the boy until he was lying with his feet in Daniel's lap and his head in Emma's. Emma stroked the dozing boy's head gently and felt a pang somewhere in her heart. The exchange between the man and her son had seemed so natural, like something a father would do for his son. It brought a lump to her throat at the thought; Henry had spent his entire life without a father. She wasn't exactly sure what she felt about Daniel filling that spot.

Almost as if hearing her thoughts, Daniel said quietly, 'where's his father?'

Emma flinched almost imperceptibly. Of course, Daniel had no way of knowing anything about Henry's father. She was surprised that he knew that Emma was in fact Henry's biological mother and that Regina was his adopted mother. Then again, they had been trapped in a cell for at least twenty four hours. Henry would have only told him what he saw to be important.

Daniel looked up at her, catching the briefest glimpse of her emotions before she wiped them from her face. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to-'

Emma waved away his apology. 'It doesn't matter…his father is…' she hesitated. 'I don't know where his father is, and I don't really care. He doesn't know about Henry'.

She was slightly surprised to see understanding in the man's eyes. Daniel looked back out the window, his hand still resting on Henry's knee. After a moment he turned back to her. His eyes were bright with polite curiosity. 'If you don't mind me asking…have you ever been in love?'

Emma could feel her walls slamming up into place, her own mind attempting to shield her from the images and thoughts that could only bring unhappiness. She couldn't answer that question, she would not. She wasn't ready to face the possible answer. She opened her mouth to rebuff him, when her eyes caught movement in the distance behind Daniel's head. Daniel turned immediately, noticing the sudden change in her attention. He narrowed his eyes slightly, squinting to see what Emma had. And then he smiled. There on the horizon, he could just make out a few figures making their way down the road towards Granny's.

* * *

Snow walked quickly to keep up with her husband's fast pace. She stood on his right, casting quick concerned glances at the unconscious woman in James's arms. James was carrying Regina bridal style, the brunette's head lolling against his shoulder. Worry and concern was fixed on both of their faces.

James had not had time to finished checking the cells. He'd been halfway down the cell-lined corridor when he'd heard his name echo from back the way he had come. He'd rushed back, fear coursing through his body as his mind ran through all the worst scenarios, most of them including some form of Cora returning. Instead he'd found that there was no use for his sword. Snow had been kneeling on the blood soaked ground, cradling Regina's head in her lap, her face frozen in a mixture of shock and fear. He'd been concerned to see that Snow had clearly been crying. However he'd soon realised that it was Regina who was the problem. Snow had told him that Regina had just collapsed in her arms, and on inspection James had discovered that the older woman's pulse was thready and weak. Though he was sure that she had just collapsed from exhaustion, he couldn't help but be concerned. He had no knowledge of how much magic sapped one's strength. Regina had been exposed to torture for two weeks, and after that she'd been greatly weakened by a sudden release of her own magic, she'd been strangled and her emotions had been subjected to trauma within a matter of two hours. And like the others, she hadn't eaten anything since capture, with the exception of some bread and cheese, well over twelve hours ago.

As he carried her, James observed that Regina had lost a lot of weight. She'd weighed almost nothing in his arms. He glanced at Snow, concerned for her as well. The hadn't actually eaten anything in a long time, aside from the bread that Daniel had brought them, and a sustaining spell could only do so much. He looked down at Regina again, taking in her pale complexion and her shallow breathing. His brow furrowed in concern. He had no idea how much blood she had lost, or the exact extent of her injuries. He did know, however, that Regina was incredibly weak. Was it possible for a body to just give out?

Snow reached out and touched his arm, his worry mirrored in her dark eyes. He knew that she desperately wanted her step mother to be alright. He had no doubt about what had happened while he had been away. The pure fear and shock in her eyes when he had run to her was testimony enough to the fact that she and Regina had reconciled, at least to some point.

As they neared the diner, James slowed to a stop. He was momentarily at a loss for what to do. Marching into the diner with the former evil queen unconscious in his arms wasn't really the best idea, especially as there was a strong likely hood that Henry was in there. What she needed was a doctor, but he had no idea whether half of the doctors were trust worthy. Regina had clearly not trusted Whale, and currently he couldn't really remember who the other doctors were. 'James'. He turned to Snow, knowing that she could see his helplessness.

Snow moved closer and touched Regina's face gently, anxiety flaring in the pit of her stomach when she felt how cold it was. Her fingers trailed lower, checking the woman's pulse briefly. It was still there, weak and slow, but it was there. She looked up at James. 'We need to find Blue. I don't know what caused this, but Regina has been subjected to dark magic for a long period of time. Not to mention what happened when she realised that Daniel was alive'.

James nodded, shifting Regina slightly so that her weight rested more evenly on his arms. She might weigh little, but his strength was quite low as well. 'What about the physical…' he didn't like to say the word torture, even though that was exactly what it had been. It made him feel sick just to think about what Cora had done to her daughter. 'What I mean is that I think she may have lost a lot of blood. Should we take her to the hospital?'

'Snow, James!' they turned at the sound of their names. Red was running towards them from the direction of the hospital, her face alight with joy. She skidded to a stop in front of them however when she saw Regina. She stared in shock at the limp form of the mayor and felt a shudder run through her. Emma had given her a brief description of what had happened when she had turned up at the library, the place that had been something of a refuge since Cora's attack. As much as no one had particularly liked living below ground in a dark place that had held multiple signs of being a dragon's lair, it had been the one safe place they knew of. Regina had fixed the lift and placed wards around it and the entrance when she had first agreed to help them. After she, Snow, James, Emma and Henry had disappeared, it had been a matter of simply not being found. They'd collected plenty of previsions and food when they had first moved in there, and there had been little reason to go up. Every now and then someone would venture up into the place that had been their home for twenty eight years to check what was happening. In the past week, things had heated up a lot. Cora had found ways of drawing people out of their haven, the only place she couldn't touch or find them, while they were asleep. When Emma had arrived, everyone had been immensely relieved to see the missing people walking behind her. Well, most of them. No one had any idea what had happened to Jefferson or August.

Though Red had believed Emma without hesitation, it was another thing to actually see some of the evidence. Regina's face and neck were marred by dark burses. There was a long gash across her hair line and deep nail marks running down her neck. Her arms were crisscrossed with bruises and cuts. And that was only the visible evidence. Emma's words rose in her mind_. 'No matter how bad any of you think Regina is, Cora is…was worse. She tortured her own daughter without even a twinge of guilt'. _Emma had then gone on to say that if anyone threatened Regina she would personally make them wish they had never been born. She'd said all this with a strange man standing behind her, carrying Henry and glaring at anyone who had looked even slightly scornful or sceptical.

'Red!' Snow threw herself at her friend, snapping Red out of her musings. She wrapped her arms around Snow and hugged her tightly, squeezing her so hard that Snow began to find it difficult to breathe. Red had been so sure that Snow was dead.

Despite the growing urgency of the situation, James stood still watching them, a large smile curving his mouth. It felt strange and false. His muscles nearly refused to cooperate; it had been so long since he had last smiled. Perhaps it was that reason that he didn't want to stop.

Eventually the two friends drew away from each other. Red turned to James and smiled. 'It's good to see you too, James'.

James smiled. He was about to say more when Regina suddenly convulsed in his arms. Her body bucked and her legs flew upwards. Panicking, James moved quickly to the ground, holding Regina more tightly to stop her from hurting herself. Her eyes darted behind her eyelids and she whimpered. James alternated between holding her tightly and trying not to hurt her. He looked up at Snow, his panic reflected in her eyes. 'Snow, we need help!'

Red, whose eyes were wide with shock as she watched the former evil queen trash in her sleep, said quickly. 'I'll go'.

Snow crouched down beside her step mother. 'Get Blue'. Regina twitched and whimpered as if she was in pain. 'Hurry!'

Red turned and sprinted down the road, the urgency in her friend's voice seeping into her own mind. As she passed the diner's windows, she caught a brief glimpse of Emma sitting in one of the booths. Emma must have seen the expression on her face, because she stood suddenly. That was all Red saw before she continued running.

Snow watched Red sprint away for a moment before turning back. Regina had quietened now, her body lying limp in James's arms. Her eyes continued to rove behind her lids and faint cries continued to escape her lips. James caught Cora's name. Understanding dawned and he felt his heart wrench. He looked up at Snow. 'She's dreaming. I think she's dreaming about what happened'.

Snow stared at him. At that moment, the doors to the diner burst apart and Daniel and Emma came running out. Henry exited a moment later, his eyes heavy with sleep. They snapped open however, when he realised what was happening. Daniel and Emma crouched down beside Snow and James, their eyes wide with fear and concern. 'What's happening?' breathed Daniel, the terror clear in his voice. After everything that had happened, he was terrified that he could still lose her. He wanted to take Regina from James, yet he knew that if there was something wrong with her then that could make it worse. He contented himself with grasping Regina's limp hand and lacing their fingers together tightly.

Before either royal could answer, Henry reached them. The little boy fairly threw himself at Regina, grasping her body by the shoulders, crying her name loudly. Tears began to leak from his eyes as she didn't respond. Emma reached out and pulled Henry to her, worried that he would hurt his adopted mother. Henry turned wet eyes to his grandparents. 'What's wrong with her?!' his voice shook as violently as his body.

James tried to make his voice sound reassuring, though really he had about as much experience at this as he had being a father. 'I think she's dreaming, Henry'.

Daniel frowned as Regina whimpered again, her hand twitching weakly in his. 'And she can't wake up because…' he trailed off. They all knew the reason why she couldn't wake up.

'We sent Red to get Blue, just encase'. Snow's words were directed at both Daniel and Henry.

Emma bit her lip anxiously. She could see the effect this was having on her son. It was clearly reminding him of what he had been forced to watch. Regina flinched violently, her head jerking up from where it had been resting against the prince's arm. A cry tore from her lips, and Emma couldn't stop herself from extending her hand and touching the woman's face gently. She brushed a lock of hair out of Regina's face, smoothing it away from her blood stained forehead. She swallowed thickly at the twisted expression on Daniel's face, an expression nearly mirrored by Snow and Henry.

Henry suddenly had an idea. He reached up towards his neck and pulled the chain over his head. The calm, reassuring feeling fled as soon as the pendant left him. He swallowed as he felt the images spring back into his mind, flashing in front of his eyes. He pushed them away forcefully and then leaned forward. Emma, seeing what her son intended to do, lifted Regina's head slightly so that Henry could loop the chain over her neck. Henry lifted the material of Regina's shirt slightly and let the pendant fall to rest against her skin, just over her heart. Almost immediately, the whimpering stopped. Regina slumped against James, her frantic breathing evening out. The entire group breathed a sigh of relief.

James caught Daniel's eye and made a gesture as if to pass Regina over. Daniel took her gently from James, laying her across his knees so that her head was cradled in the crook of his elbow. Regina sighed and curled into him, her hand coming up to rest against his chest. Daniel smiled and tightened his grip slightly. Perhaps everything would be alright after all.

* * *

'Well?' asked Daniel, leaning forward anxiously as Blue straightened from bending over Regina. Regina was lying in a hospital bed, her face pale but peaceful, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Daniel was sitting on a chair near her head, still holding her hand. Every time he had attempted to release her, she had started whimpering in distress, though it had never reached the previous level. Henry was sitting on the bed, watching her breath in and out as if he had to reassure himself that the rhythm would continue. James stood by the door, preventing anyone from trying to satisfy their curiosity about the former Evil Queen's condition. Snow and Emma stood at the foot of the bed, waiting for Blue to ease their worries.

As for Blue herself, she was unsure exactly what to feel about Regina. She had hated, she _still_ hated, the Evil Queen. That woman had destroyed countless lives, wrecked dozens of happy endings, and had laughed while doing it. This woman…this woman was a broken, fractured shard of the person she had once been, a woman who had been beaten and abused by her own mother. Cora. In the Enchanted Forest, the fairies had spent decades wondering what to do about Rumple's fifth apprentice. Oh, Cora hadn't been the first, not by a long shot. Rumple had been around for centuries, but the fairies had never been able to find a way of stopping him alone. It took people like James and Snow to be able to lock him up, people with something to lose. And even then, there had been no way of defeating him. No way that is, except for the love of a young woman and the instinct of another. And, possibly like everyone in this town, Blue had had a hand in turning Regina into the woman they had all hated and feared. It had been Blue's choice to ignore Regina's plea for help as a child. Well, to be fair, she hadn't really ignored it. She had sent in a fairy, one of their most skilled and resourceful. Even then, without decades of power and knowledge under her belt, Cora had defeated a fairy with barely a second glance. After that…Blue hadn't wanted to risk sending anyone else. Her reasoning had been that there were plenty of other people that needed their help, people that would be lost if any more of them died.

Looking down at her now, Blue couldn't help wonder how things might have turned out if she had sent in anyone else.

'Blue?' Snow waved her hand in front of the older woman's face to snap her out of her thoughts.

Blue blinked. 'Sorry…she should be fine. Her body shut down because of the stress of releasing all that magic without letting it injure any of you. Her magic is slowly replenishing, and her strength will return soon with that fuelling it. Once her magic has returned enough that her body believes it could withstand an onslaught, she will wake up. I don't think that her body is quite aware that there is no longer any threat. Cora has influenced her life so much that her body, and her magic, is having trouble registering that her mother is gone for good'.

'And good riddance', muttered Emma.

Blue left them soon after. They were all reassured a little. Regina still had a lot of physical injures that would take time to heal, at least until she could fix them herself. She had several broken bones, ribs mostly; a dislocated shoulder, a bad concussion, and she had lost a fair amount of blood. Though Blue had assured them that Regina's magic would take care of the blood loss and heal most of the cuts.

Henry lay down on the bed and curled into his mother, his head resting on her pillow and his eyes on her face. He vowed silently that he would not leave her side. In his opinion, nothing would be alright until she woke up.

Emma pulled up a chair behind Henry and settled into it, closing her eyes and resting her hand against Henry's back, just encase he fell asleep and rolled over. Snow picked up two chairs and placed them in front of the door. Perhaps she was being overly cautious, but she was not going to risk their safety, not after everything they had been through. She and James sat down and he wrapped an arm around her. She leaned against his shoulder and he rested his head against hers. Snow allowed her eyes to slip close, exhaustion claiming her. Part of her still feared what might happen while she was asleep, but she had to sleep some time. James remained awake for a little, his gaze flicking between his daughter and his grandson, between Regina and Daniel, who were without a doubt now part of his family. Daniel leaned against the bed, stroking Regina's hand with his thumb. He was speaking softly, though to Regina or Henry, James couldn't be sure. The former king tightened his hold on his wife and closed his eyes.

Together, they waited.

* * *

_**So, I just need to clear something up. First of all, I loved the relationship between Neal and Emma. But when I first wrote this story, there was no Neal. So, as this is AU, there will be no Neal in this story. Emma will get her happy ending, though I'm still working on the details to as how, but just in a different way. (I am completely open to suggestions!)**_

_**And yes, I know that there was little to no Daniel/Regina interaction, but that will come in the next chapter :)**_

_**What do you think will happen? What do you want to happen? Please leave a review!**_


	7. Confrontations

_**okay, I know that this is really late, and I am really sorry! I really have no excuse, except that life got in the way and I went into complete shock after the mid-season finale (how could they end it there?!). Anyway, this chapter is a bit longer than usual, so I hope that makes up for it. And I hope you continue to read this, even though it is completely AU now!**_

_**So, in this chapter we get some Daniel/Regina interaction, as well as some Henry/Regina moments. I hope you like it!**_

_**Please leave a review!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7 ~ Confrontations**_

Warmth. It surrounded her from all sides, and in comparison her face was quite cold. She felt soft and relaxed, and strangely content. She didn't want to open her eyes. But eventually, her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened her eyes. She shut them almost at once, wincing as blinding light stabbed into her eyes. After a moment, she tried again, cautiously peering through her lashes. She recognised her surroundings almost at once. She was in the hospital, lying on her back on one of the beds. Something warm and soft was pressed up against her side. She tilted her head to the right, intent on catching a glimpse of the object. The muscles in her neck and back protested sharply as she moved but she ignored them when she caught sight of Henry. The body was curled up on the bed, his small body pressed against her side, his head resting on the pillow beside hers. He was frowning in his sleep.

She could barely remember the last time she had awoken with Henry beside her. Tears pricked her eyes at the thought and she closed her eyes for a moment. Her mind was full of images she wished she could destroy forever. Now that she was awake, she was becoming fully aware of the extent of damage done to her body. Everything arched and throbbed, and a sharp pain lanced over her ribs. She didn't want to think about how her body had ended up in its current condition, so she tried to focus on something else. And then she remembered.

Her eyes flew open and she attempted to sit up, only for an excruciating pain to explode in her torso. She fell back onto the bed, the room spinning around her as she attempted to fight through the pain. She gritted her teeth and looked around, searching for him.

Behind Henry, Emma had fallen fast asleep. She was slumped forwards onto the bed, her head resting on her arms in the sliver of space behind Henry's back. Regina could see no more than her blonde curls. Judging by the state of the Saviour and her son, neither of them had taken any time to look after themselves. Emma's hair was a dirty tangled mess, their clothes were ripped and torn and Henry's face was smeared with dirt. The idea that they had both been too concerned about her to even wash filled her with an unfamiliar feeling.

'Regina?' She turned her head. Daniel had been asleep in the chair beside her, his head resting on his hand. Now he was sitting up, his eyes heavy yet bright.

She was speechless. She couldn't get anything past her lips. She could only stare at him. It was really him. It hadn't been a trick. Her mother hadn't deceived her in her last moments. Daniel was alive. A strange sort of croak escaped her mouth as she attempted to speak, and Daniel's expression became concerned. He stood, intent on getting Regina some water, but the woman reached out a hand and gripped his arm. He looked down at her, frowning slightly, until he saw her expression. Without a word, he bent and hugged her, holding her gently in his arms. Regina stretched her arms up and wrapped them around him, ignoring the pain in her back. Daniel bent over awkwardly so that Regina was still lying on the bed, attempting to alleviate the pressure on her back. Regina sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. This time there was no rush, no reason for their embrace to be any shorter than they wanted.

After a long moment, Daniel pulled away and released her. He raised his hand and gently cupped her cheek, smoothing his thumb over her bruised skin. It hurt him to see the damage done to her face; the bruises and the gash across her forehead. He tried not to look at the dried nail marks down her neck. He looked deep into her shinning eyes, smiling gently. 'I love you. And I will never leave you again'.

The tears in Regina's eyes spilled over, trickling down her cheeks to pool in Daniel's palm. He hesitated only briefly before he leaned forwards and kissed the tears from her face. Regina's eyes closed and a sigh escaped her lips at the blissful sensation of his feather light kisses. It was amazing what he could do to her, even without actually touching her lips. 'Daniel…' her voice cut off and she coughed, her dry throat protesting violently.

Daniel smiled, though a slight crease furrowed his brow. 'Though I do need to leave to get you some water'. He kissed her forehead. 'I'll be right back'.

She pushed herself up on the pillows so that she could look around the room properly. She watched Daniel cross to the door and stop. She smiled, the stiff muscles stretching, as she saw James and Snow sitting on two chairs in front of the door, preventing anyone from entering the room. Daniel glanced over his shoulder at her, unsure what to do. The two royals looked completely exhausted and he had no wish to disturb them, yet at the same time he needed to get Regina some water.

Regina solved the problem quickly. Concentrating, she was pleased to discover that her magic was already well on the way in replenishing itself. She stretched out her hand, letting the magic flow to the tips of her fingers. The chairs rose off the floor a little and Regina levitated them across the room to the opposite wall, leaving the door clear. James grunted in his sleep and Snow shifted further into his embrace, though neither woke up.

Daniel grinned. At the door, he glanced at Regina. 'I promise I'll be right back'. She nodded, watching him until he stepped out of sight.

Regina sighed and flopped back onto the pillow. Her body was very highly strung. After everything that had happened, she was still having trouble believing that there was nothing to worry about. Then again, she didn't know that. She was pretty sure that the townspeople would still want some kind of retribution. She closed her eyes. She was way too tired to think about that right now.

'Mom?' Regina turned her head and looked straight into Henry's brown eyes. The boy sat up, his expression ecstatic. 'Mom!' He wrapped his arms around her tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as he inhaled her distinctive smell. Regina's arms went around her son, her hand pressing his head against her chest while her other gripped his torn jacket tightly. Henry scrambled around until he was lying on top of her, his body pressed against hers. Regina tilted her neck and kissed his forehead, leaving behind a couple of tears as she pulled away. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Regina was glad that she was sitting up; otherwise Henry's weight would have squashed her. He had grown a lot in the last year.

Henry could feel Regina's arms tightening almost painfully around him, but he didn't care. She was alive and well, and that was all that mattered.

Beside them, Emma mumbled something about fish and chips and burrowed her face into the sheets of the hospital bed. Regina turned her head and looked down at the blonde. She still wasn't exactly sure what to call the woman. Though if she was completely honest with herself, a friend was something she definitely wanted. Whatever the blonde was to her, she was definitely going to be a part of her life.

Henry plopped his chin against her chest so that he could look up at her. His face was alight with relief and happiness. 'I'm so glad you're alright! Did the necklace work?'

Regina frowned, confused. 'Necklace? What necklace?' Her voice was horse and rough, yet it was working again.

In answer, Henry reached up to her neck. He took the delicate chain between his fingers and tugged it, pulling the pendant up from beneath Regina's torn dirtied blouse. She blinked, surprised. She hadn't even felt it resting there. When Henry raised the necklace to eye level however, all thoughts fled.

Slowly, almost as if she was in a dream, Regina lifted her hand and took the necklace from Henry, letting the pendant rest in her palm. The light twinkled off the familiar engraving, reflecting in her dark eyes. She couldn't believe it. The last time she had seen the treasured gift had been before she had begun her apprenticeship with Rumple, when her mother was still in her life. 'Henry…how did this…' The door opened and Daniel entered the room, a bottle of water clutched in his hand.

He stopped by her bedside and put the water down on the table. Wordlessly, Regina indicated the pendant in her hand, her eyes begging for an explanation. Daniel smiled, a little sheepishly. 'I took it years ago, just before you banished…' He stopped, deciding not to touch the delicate subject. 'I'm sorry I took it, I just…Cora used to send me into your room at night when I displeased her. She knew how much it hurt being unable to talk to you or to let you know I was alright. I took this one night. I needed something to remember you by'.

Regina smiled. 'I thought my mother took it…'she trailed off, not wanting to relieve her most recent memories of her mother. She focused on Henry instead. 'How did you know about it?'

Henry explained how he had been unwilling to go to sleep because of the recent incidents. 'Daniel gave it to me so that I could go to sleep without nightmares. When James carried you back after you fainted you started thrashing around and screaming'. Regina brushed the hair out of his face, aware that it had affected him badly. 'I gave it to you and you stopped'.

Regina could feel her heart swelling with love, and something else. Years ago, when Henry had been very young, she would dream about a life where Daniel was there, where they had adopted Henry together. Watching the way Henry and Daniel interacted, and hearing about what Daniel had done for Henry, made her feel like it didn't necessarily have to be a dream. Perhaps it could be a reality, if a slightly different one. Her original dream had not included Snow White, her husband, and their daughter. But recent events had changed things. Perhaps she did have more than one thing to thank her mother for. She had Henry and she had forgiven Snow for what she had done, something that she was sure wouldn't have happened unless Cora had come to Storybroke.

'Mom? You okay?' Regina blinked. Henry was staring up at her, his expression concerned and a little fearful.

Regina smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, resting her chin atop his head. 'I love you, Henry'.

Henry hugged her back just as tightly. 'I love you too. I'm sorry that I believed you were the Evil Queen'.

Regina looked at Daniel. She stretched out a hand and took his, needing the contact. Daniel stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, closing her eyes as his scent and warmth surrounded her. She never would have believed it was possible for her to be happy again, much less be with the two people she loved most in the world.

Henry's stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting their moment. Regina started, taken aback by the unexpected noise. Then the laughter spilled from her lips as Henry burst into a fit of giggles. Regina tilted her head back and let the sound roll into the room, relishing in how good it felt. She could barely remember the last time she had truly laughed. Daniel smiled at the pair. 'I'm going to get you some food Henry'.

Regina stopped laughing and frowned at him. 'From where? Would the diner be open by now?'

Daniel smiled. 'Apparently the wards you placed around certain areas, (the clock tower, the room below it, and the diner) held while you were gone. Most of the townspeople went to that room, but Granny decided to stay at the diner. Cora never knew. She didn't suspect that anyone would be hiding in plain sight, so to speak. After we went to inform people about what had happened, we went to the diner to wait for you. There were several people already there'.

Regina lips curled in a slight smirk. 'You know, it really doesn't surprise me that Granny decided to stay'. Her brow creased in concern. 'Be careful, please. No one here knows who you are, and they might suspect that you were working for Cora. And if they do know who you are, then they know that I love you. They might try to hurt you because of me'.

'I'll go with him'. The three turned their heads to see James standing up from his chair. Snow muttered something and curled up, still fast asleep in her chair. James smiled fondly at his wife before turning back. 'Regina has a point. If not about wanting to hurt you, then at least about no one knows who you are. If I go with you, then they won't suspect the worst'.

Daniel nodded at the King. James stepped towards the door and shoved his hands in his pockets. His fingers brushed against something warm. Daniel jolted, surprise flitting across his face. 'Oh!' James reached into his pocket and extracted Daniel's beating heart. He held it at arm's length by the broken chain attached to the golden cage, his expression vaguely repulsed yet fascinated. 'Here. I caught it when Regina and…' he trailed off and cleared his throat. 'Anyway…you might want to put it back'.

'Thank you'. Daniel took the heart from James and pried open the little cage. He removed the heart gently before glancing at Regina. 'Do you know how to…' he left the question unfinished.

Henry watched with fascination as Regina took the heart from Daniel, cradling it her hands as if it was the most precious thing in the world. To Regina, it was. She looked at Daniel and beckoned to him. Daniel stepped forwards, his expression trusting yet a little hesitant. He hadn't exactly had any good experiences with removing hearts, and vice-versa had never been an option when he had been working for Cora. Regina placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed the heart against his chest. The magic gathered around her hand and she pushed it through his chest. Daniel gasped at the strange sensation. It was vaguely uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. Regina removed her hand and smiled at him, her eyes questioning. He leaned forwards and kissed her forehead quickly, a smile playing about his mouth. He felt whole, complete, something that had been greatly lacking in his life since that night in the stables. 'I'll be right back'.

Regina watched them go with a concerned expression. She couldn't help but be worried. It had been so long since she had even seen Daniel that she was loath to let him out of her sight. Henry touched her shoulder. 'He'll be fine, Mom. If he survived in that place for twenty eight years then I'm sure he can cope with a few people'.

Regina kissed her son's forehead. Henry was comforting her. Beside them, Emma stirred and sat up, her eyes heavy with sleep, her hair mussed and her face red from sleeping on her arms. She blinked blearily at them. 'What have I missed?'

Opposite them, Snow sat upright, as if summoned by Emma's voice. She stared at the empty seat beside her, concern and fear flitting across her face as she noticed James's absence. 'He went with Daniel to get Henry something to eat'. Snow stood and walked towards Regina as she spoke, stretching the cramped muscles in her back.

She sat at the end of the bed, her eyes expressing her concern for her step-mother. 'How are you feeling?'

Regina smiled wryly. 'Like I've been hit by a train, but that's hardly surprising given the circumstances'. She was trying to brush the concern away. She might have forgiven her step-daughter, and they might have shared a very close moment down in the cells, but she wasn't exactly used to having the younger woman care for her.

Snow's gaze didn't waver from hers. 'Can you heal yourself with your magic yet?'

Regina rolled her eyes. Snow White, the ever concerned mother hen. But she had a point. Henry scrambled down from the bed at her request and sat on Emma's lap, watching as Regina's eyes began to glow with her magic. Regina concentrated, letting the magic flow through her body, allowing it to heal only the more major injuries. It would take far too much effort, and strength she didn't have, for her to heal herself completely. Her ribs healed with an audible series of pops and her shoulder snapped back into place. The bump on the back of her head smoothed out and the pressure on her head eased. The magic had already taken care of the loss of blood while she had been asleep. All the other injuries, the bruises and cuts, could heal on their own. Besides, she reasoned, it would probably be a good idea if she kept some physical proof, least the townspeople disregard everything that had happened as a fabrication. She opened her eyes, letting the magic finish its work.

Emma frowned as the purple glow vanished from around Regina, noticing that the bruises and cuts marring her skin were skin present, along with the nail marks down her neck. 'What about the others?'

Regina blinked rapidly, her vision a little blurred. 'I…don't have enough strength to heal everything. Besides, people are going to need proof of what happened to truly believe that there was someone worse than the Evil Queen'. The bitterness in her voice could not be ignored, though it was hard to tell whether it was directed at the townspeople or at her mother.

Snow didn't know what to say to that. Instead she reached out and covered Regina's hand with her own. 'I forgave you Regina. I'm sure that they will too, given time'.

Regina shook her head, smiling a little at Snow's naivety. But she didn't comment. Instead, she turned to Emma. 'How are you going with all of this?'

Emma didn't have to ask what she meant. She smiled a little, fiddling with Henry's hair absentmindedly. 'Don't you remember that we went missing a few days before you did? I admit, it was a little…difficult to comprehend that my parents were Fairy Tale characters, but it's amazing what you can come to terms with when you're locked in a room with nothing to do but talk for a few days'. She hesitated before meeting Regina's eyes. 'It helped that Cora was continuously mocking them about what they had given up'.

Regina nodded. 'My mother had a way of helping people when she intended the exact opposite'. She looked at Snow. 'It must have been quite a shock for you to see her again'.

Snow's expression clouded. 'It wasn't a pleasant surprise to say the least. She didn't show herself until the three of us were together. I thought I was imagining things at first. I couldn't see how she could be here…but I realised that it was her almost immediately. She's…hard to forget to say the least'.

Regina remembered all too clearly the moment when she had seen her mother. She'd woken up in the cell with the Charmings bending over her, their expressions concerned. While she had tried to find a way to escape, Snow had been trying to explain what was going on. She'd finally had enough of Snow's hesitant explanation and had demanded she just spit it out. At that moment, Snow had suddenly gone extremely white, and Regina had turned around to find herself face to face with her worst nightmare.

The door burst open, jerking Regina from her recollections. Snow was on her feet in an instant, standing protectively between Emma and the intruder. Her stance relaxed however, when she saw that it was Red. 'Red! Don't do that…what's wrong?' She had seen Red's expression.

Red was breathing hard, as if she had run far and fast in a short space of time. Her expression was worried, and a little fearful. Her eyes were fixed on Regina. 'Mob', she gasped, 'there's a mob coming. People heard that you were hurt and that you were here and someone rallied them up and managed to convince them that you were faking it and that you had Snow and James under your control. They think that everything that has happened to them was a plot by you. Someone mentioned that Cora was your mother and they think that she was working for you. They're seriously pissed off, I couldn't reason with any of them. You've got to move!'

Emma stared at her, slack jawed. 'What?! They think that everything that happened was Regina's idea?! They think that Cora was…who the hell would believe that?!'

Red put her hands on her ribs and bent over, still out of breath. 'Emma, they've been trapped below ground for two weeks, living in dire fear of their lives. They haven't seen the evidence and they haven't met this Cora person. They were already suspecting Regina when you, Snow and James went missing, and it didn't help that Regina vanished into thin air _after_ you did. And this person can be very persuasive'.

Snow suddenly seemed to come to grips with the gravity of the situation. Regina was weak and hurt and a mob was marching to the door as they spoke. 'Regina, we have to move, right now!'

Startled into action, Regina flung back the blankets and swung her legs out of the bed. She attempted to stand but her legs wouldn't support her and they buckled under her weight. She grabbed onto the edge of the bed to stop herself from slamming into the ground, her face contorted in pain. 'Shit!' She hadn't noticed that her ankle was twisted when she had been healing herself, as it had been masked by the greater pain in her ribs.

Snow darted forwards and slipped an arm around Regina's waist, helping to haul the woman upright. Regina flung an arm around Snow's shoulders, leaning heavily on her as the room spun. The magic had really taken it out of her. Snow looked down at Regina's bare feet, seeing the way Regina was holding her left foot. 'Can you heal it?'

Regina shook her head, gritting her teeth. 'I don't…I need to save my strength. I might need to ward off a mob'.

Snow beckoned to Red. Red hesitated briefly before acceding to her friend's request and moving forwards to support Regina on the other side. Up close, she noticed that there was even more damage than she had originally realised. It was Regina's clothes that told the real story. They were ripped and torn and covered in dirt and blood. Regina's lips quirked into a smirk at Red's reluctance. 'Thank you, dear'.

Snow frowned. 'Don't you start that again. The townspeople need to see that you're not the person they remember, so do yourself a favour and don't go around taunting and mocking people'.

'Let's move people!' Emma was standing at the door, propping it open with her foot. She was holding onto Henry and gripping a gun in her other hand. She was thankful that she had had the foresight to stop by the sheriff's station and pick one up, and that it had been locked up before she was taken. Otherwise, everyone might have one by now.

Supported by Red and Snow, Regina hobbled through the strangely quiet hospital, with Emma leading the way. Close to the front doors, Regina stopped suddenly. 'What about Daniel and James? They won't know where to find us'.

Snow hesitated, part of her wanting to wait for her true love. Then she shook her head. 'I'm sure they'll figure it out, and if not then Red could always go looking for them. Besides, if they are actually out for your blood it might be a good idea if Daniel isn't around at the moment'.

They moved forwards as quickly as possible. Emma kicked the front doors open and burst into the sunlight. Red and Snow hurried forwards, half supporting and half dragging Regina with them, and froze. The collected townspeople were standing less than three metres away. They were holding pitch forks and brooms, sticks and stones and an assortment of shed tools and axes. And firebrands, which Emma thought was absurd considering that it was still daylight. They were wearing identical expressions of anger and determination.

The blonde shifted her stance, placing Henry behind her and herself in front of Regina, effectively blocking the former Evil Queen from view. She raised her gun, setting her jaw. 'Everybody move, right now!'

There was a ripple in the crowd and Grumpy came into view, the other dwarves crowding behind him. 'You're Majesty!' They looked elated but worried. It was clear that they believed that Snow was being controlled.

Snow smiled at them, her face lighting up at the sight of her friends. 'How many times must I ask you to call me Snow?' Her expression darkened. 'What are you doing? Where's the threat?'

'The Evil Queen of course!' Somebody in the crowd shouted. That seemed to set everybody off and they all began clamouring.

Snow's temper was dangerously thin. 'Quiet!' Everybody went still, affected by the power in her voice. She had been a Queen after all. 'Regina is not a threat! Whatever you think happened while we were gone is wrong!'

Grumpy and the dwarves glanced at each other, doubt written all over their features. Snow looked at them. 'You know me. Why would I lie about this? I have as much right to be angry at Regina as any of you but I'm not! If any of you ever had even a sliver of respect for me then you will listen! Regina is not a threat! There is no reason to bring a mob to the hospital!'

The mob was immediately in an up roar, shouting and clamouring. Without a word to the rest, the dwarves stepped away from the body of the mob and moved to surround the little group, having seen the truth in Snow's eyes. Snow breathed a sigh of relief as her friends turned to face the mob, now on her side.

Someone broke through the crowd to the front. 'The Queen needs to be punished!'

Red's eyes flashed. 'King George'. Now she understood why the mob was in such a frenzy, and why they were so convinced. George had a very convincing way of putting things, and it didn't help that the target here was the woman who had ruined all their happy endings.

George's voice rose over the mob, urging them on. 'She is the Evil Queen! How do we know that you aren't under a spell? She took away our happy endings, she needs to suffer!'

Emma bit her lip. They had dealt with this problem when the curse had first broken, but this was a different matter. Who knew how long King George had been at this while they had been gone? It was clear that the town had feared that Regina was responsible for their disappearance. Emma glanced over her shoulder at Regina. She was standing so close that Henry was wedged between them, and there was no way that the people could see the damage done to her body. Regina met her eyes. She knew what Emma wanted. She broke eye contact and looked down at Henry. The little boy nodded at her in encouragement. Taking a deep breath, the brunette looked up at Emma, and nodded.

Emma turned her attention back to the crowd. 'Regina has suffered enough! We weren't captured by her; we were taken by her mother!'

'Who she was working with!' George spread his hands wide, as if Emma had just proven her point. 'Where was her mother all this time? Explain why she just happened to go missing _after _you'.

Emma reached behind her and found Regina's hand. Snow and Red released the woman as she hobbled forwards to Emma's side. Emma put her arm around Regina's back and turned to face the crowd. 'You want to know why Regina was in hospital? Why we are so convinced that she is not a threat and why she has suffered enough? Her mother tortured her, that's why!'

The crowd went silent as they saw the state the former Evil Queen was in. their eyes moved over the purple and blue bruises around her neck, the black discolorations on her face and the multi-coloured welts scattered over her arms and legs. Their eyes widened in shock at the collection of cuts running up and down her arms and legs, the nail marks on her neck and the gash across her forehead. They stared at the state of her clothing, the blood and dirt shockingly visible in the sunlight. Emma winced slightly. Regina looked even worse under the bright sun. Regina leaned heavily on the saviour, keeping her eyes down. She didn't like to be victim to so much scrutiny. She hated the fact that these people were seeing a side of her that few had previously been allowed to see.

'What kind of mother would do that?' a voice cut through the silence. It was hard to tell whether they were doubtful that it was true or if they were just horrified.

Regina laughed. She couldn't help it. The irony of the situation was astounding. People were finally seeing her at her most weak and vulnerable. They were finally getting the answer as to how she had ended up the way she had. She lifted head, her eyes burning with pain and shame as she looked at the crowd. 'What kind of mother indeed? Did you all really think that I became who I was because I chose to? Evil is not born. It's made. And my mother is very good at corrupting people. You want to know how I ended up as the Evil Queen? You want proof that I've suffered for my crimes? Well here you have it. I've suffered my entire life. My mother has 'taught me lessons' since I was old enough to walk. She punished me because I wanted happiness while she wanted power. You wonder why I was so desperate to take away your happy endings? Because my mother took away mine. She made me believe that she killed my true love when I was nineteen. She forced me into an abusive marriage for her own gain. Whether or not any of you believe that I have suffered, I have, I will not allow you to make me suffer anymore'.

There was a long silence. Regina really hadn't intended to say that much, but it was done now and perhaps it would help her anyway. Emma gave her a gentle squeeze, a smile of encouragement playing about her mouth. Henry reached out and grabbed Regina's hand, silently lending his support. There was a shift in the crowd and Granny emerged, followed by Blue and Belle. They hadn't actually been part of the mob; they had just been attempting to get through it. They joined the small group. Belle looked at the still doubtful crowd. 'It's true. Cora tortured Regina. Any of you who were kept prisoner there would have heard her screams. I could, and I was at the other end of the cell block. I…Regina locked me up for over twenty eight years. I might not like what she did, but I can forgive her because I know what she suffered, and I have an idea of what she must have gone through as a child. And I wouldn't wish any more pain on her'.

The crowd shifted uncomfortably. Several of them, those that had been locked up and who now knew what Belle was talking about, began to disperse. They could all remember the screams that had shattered the despairing quiet of the cells. They just hadn't known who it was.

Regina caught Belle's eye and nodded slightly, acknowledging what she had done. Belle returned the gesture, smiling. She needed to talk to Regina, but that could wait until later. Blue suddenly spoke up. 'I can vouch for what Cora did. The injuries inflicted on Regina were put there by dark magic, dark magic laced with Cora's magical signature. Cora was a woman who wanted nothing but power, and she was willing to use her own daughter to get that power'.

The crowd shifted, still unsure. Granny raised her crossbow, a subtle threat. 'I think we should be moving along now people'.

Taking the hint, the crowd began to disperse. The group remained in the same position until there were only a few people left, George among them. The former King narrowed his eyes at Regina. 'What did you mean when you said that your mother _made_ you believe that she killed your true love?'

Regina was saved from answering by the arrival of James and Daniel. The two men pushed through what was left of the crowd and immediately moved to join the group. Daniel positioned himself slightly in front of Regina, glaring at George with undisguised anger. He and James had been waiting at the empty diner, having missed the mob by taking a different route, when Archie had found them. The fear he had experienced had practically paralysed him.

George seemed to understand that this was the answer to his question, but his attention had now shifted to James. 'David Nolen, so glad you could finally join us'.

James glared. His arm was wrapped around Snow and his sword was drawn. 'Spenser, I think your business here is done. Regina is not a threat, which you clearly already knew, so I think you should leave'. Granny hefted her crossbow to underline the threat.

George smiled. 'Look how the mighty have fallen. What are you now, David? You're an imitation King with no kingdom, a shepherd with no flock. You work at an animal shelter with a miniscule income. Your future isn't looking so bright any-' George suddenly stopped talking. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out.

Everyone looked at Regina. She blinked. She had not meant to do that. 'Sorry, instinct. Even my subconsciousness was getting tired of hearing his voice. It'll wear off in a few hours'.

George's eyes sparkled with fury as the group burst into laughter. He glared at James one last time before turning and walking away, his ears burning in humiliation.

The tight knot loosened as everyone backed away from Regina a little, eager to put some space between themselves and the former mayor. They might trust Snow, but they didn't necessarily trust Regina. Regina was glad; she had been feeling a little claustrophobic with so many people crowded around her. Emma turned to her as the slightly older woman leaned into Daniel's embrace. 'You alright?'

Regina gave her a weak smile. Her ankle was throbbing and she had a slight headache. 'I'm fine. Just a little…tired'. Daniel's arms tightened around her as he rested his chin on her head. She wasn't wearing any shoes, which increased their height difference to some extent. A frown creased her brow as she was reminded of something she had to do. 'Emma, could you give us a moment? There is something I need to…tell Daniel'.

Emma nodded slightly before backing off, giving Regina a little privacy as she moved to talk to her parents. Henry remained where he was, holding onto Regina's hand. Regina didn't object. If it was up to her, she would never let him go again.

Regina turned around so that she was facing Daniel. The young man snaked his arms around her waist and frowned at her, noticing the worry in her eyes. Henry leaned against Regina, facing away from the pair, but still holding her hand. He had been so worried, seeing the pitch forks and axes and knowing that they were directed at his mother. He didn't want to let her go either.

'Hey'. Daniel tried to get Regina's attention, a little concerned that she was avoiding eye contact with him. 'What is it?'

Regina took a deep breath. 'You're probably wondering what that was all about'.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. 'Well it did cross my mind'.

Regina looked away again. 'I…I'm not the person I once was. I'm not the same person you fell in love with. I've done…terrible things. I've killed people, I've had people killed, and I took the happiness away from all these people because I was too blind to see that it was my mother's fault. I…I'm not the little innocent girl you loved'. She hated having to say it, hated that she feared that it might push him away. But she loved him, and she could never lie to him. 'You should-'

Daniel pressed a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her. He was frowning, the creases making him look older then he actually was. 'Regina…you're not the only one who has changed. Your mother…I did a lot of things that I am ashamed of. Before we went to the void, she sent me on 'errands' around the Enchanted Forest, stealing and taking objects and magical items that she found interesting. I've killed a lot of people, probably far more than you. And when we went to the void…let's just say that there were far more people there than I would have expected. I'm not the innocent stable boy you remember either'.

Panic flitted across Regina's face, as if she was worried that he was going to leave her. 'But you didn't want to do any of those things!'

'It doesn't mean that I didn't. Regina, all I am saying is that we have both changed, and not necessarily for the better. But you're still you. You're just more world-weary. I know that what you did wasn't exactly the best thing in the world, but you regret it, and that shows that you're still you'. He frowned. 'Does that make sense?' She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. 'I love you, Regina. I will always love you, no matter how much you've changed'.

Tears pricked her eyes, even as a smile tugged at her lips. She leaned forwards and buried her face in his shoulder. She had been so worried that he was going to reject her when he found out what she had done. Daniel held her tightly, whispering in her ear, 'let's just down play the 'I will destroy your happiness' part of you, okay?'

Regina laughed, the sound clear and musical, and the rest of the group turned to stare at her. Red's mouth was hanging open. She leaned to the side so that she could whisper, 'did Regina just laugh? Like, a real laugh? Not a cackle?'

Granny's eyebrows had gone so high that they nearly disappeared into her hair. 'Well there you go, miracles do happen'.

Regina pulled away from Daniel and looked up into his shockingly blue eyes. Her heartbeat increased without warning as she realised just how close his lips were. She looped an arm around her neck, still holding onto Henry with her other hand, and played with the hair at the nap of his neck. 'Have I kissed you yet?'

Daniel could feel his own, newly restored heart beating frantically against his ribcage. He couldn't take his eyes away from her lush lips. How long had it been since he had felt her sweet kisses? He licked his lips, a blush creeping up his neck. He suddenly felt eighteen again; young and inexperienced, trying to pluck up the courage to kiss Regina as they sat under the full moon. 'I don't believe you have'.

Regina smirked. 'It must have slipped my mind'. She could feel the heat between their bodies like a physical force. She had almost forgotten the electric feeling of being so close to him. 'Perhaps I should-'

Daniel silenced her with a kiss she had been craving for over two decades. His lips were just like she remembered; soft yet firm. He tasted like wine and fruit, and she suddenly felt overwhelmed by her love for him. Her eyes closed and she tightened her grip on the back of his neck as her lips parted, deepening the kiss. Daniel groaned at the intensity of the kiss, the taste and smell of apples and cinnamon surrounding him until he felt like he could become lost in it.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't notice the explosion of light that expanded out from them. They didn't feel the rush of air that tugged at their clothes and ruffled their hair.

Everyone froze, staring at the source of the light with expressions of shock. Even Henry turned to look at them, though he wrinkled his nose a little at the sight of their passionate embrace.

The ground rumbled. Regina and Daniel broke apart as the ground shook forcefully. Regina tightened her hold on Henry as the little boy turned to grab hold of her. Daniel curved his body protectively over the two of them, mindful of falling masonry and all the things that came after an earthquake. Emma stumbled forwards and crouched down beside the three of them, gripping Henry's shoulders and shielding him from behind. Several people screamed in fear as Snow and James darted towards Emma and grabbed onto her, not wishing to be parted from their daughter again.

Snow, her head tucked into James, caught Regina's eye. She could tell just by the expression on Regina's face that she had no idea what was going on.

The earthquake stopped. The Charmings, the Mills and Daniel straightened up slightly. 'What the hell was that?' asked Emma, still holding on to Henry as he gripped Regina's hand.

'I have no idea…' Regina trailed off, her mouth hanging open as she stared at something over James's shoulder. James craned his neck around, still unwilling to move away from Snow and Emma, and stared. Regina shifted, pushing Henry between her, Emma and Daniel. James shoved Snow into Regina, wrapping his arms around her from behind as somebody shouted, 'everybody take cover!'

A thick purple cloud was rushing towards them from the outskirts of town, consuming everything in its path. It crackled with power, lightning flashing in its depths. This had happened before, when the curse had broken. But even Regina had no idea what this was, and she had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next.

* * *

_**So, what do you think? What would you like to happen next? What do you think is happening?**_

_**I know that a lot of people didn't want Daniel to return (before the emotional destruction of the Doctor) because they thought that Regina would have changed too much. But they love each other, they always will, that is what true love is. Plus, in this story Daniel has changed to. Remember that guys, Daniel loves Regina no matter what! (If only she could be happy in the show :'( )**_

_**Please review!**_


	8. Broken

_**(there must be something wrong with fanfiction - apparently, not all of you could see this. hope this works!)**_

_**I know, I know, way too long between updates. I actually really struggled with this one though, so I hope that you can forgive me :) Some of you wanted them to go back to the Enchanted Forest, while others didn't, so I hope that this satisfies all of you :)**_

_**Oh, and in this chapter, we find out what happened to Jefferson and August :)**_

_**This hasn't been through beta. **_

_**Oh, and I took some liberties with the layout of Mary Magaret's apartment. I've altered it so that it has three bedrooms; the loft, the master and a spare. I know that she only has two on the show, but it was necessary. Besides, we haven't actually seen all of her apartment, for all we know there could be another. Hope this doesn't bother you too much!**_

_**Please review!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 8 ~ Broken**_

The smoke had dispersed, the last wisps drifting away on the wind, when the group managed to summon the courage to open their eyes. James frowned, stepping back as Snow looked around, her puzzled expression matching her daughter's. Emma stood up, her hand still resting on Henry's shoulder as Regina and Daniel stepped apart to give the boy some breathing room. 'What on earth…?'

Nothing had changed. They were still standing in front of the hospital in Storybroke. The smoke didn't appear to have damaged anything. The dwarves, Red, Blue, Granny, Bella and Archie all looked exactly the same. Everyone looked at Regina, clearly demanding an explanation. The woman just shrugged. She had no idea what had just happened. Grumpy voiced the group's thoughts. 'What was that? Why didn't we go back to the Enchanted Forest?' Many of them had had the same thought; that the smoke was going to return them to their land. The disappointment the second time was nearly worse than the first.

The only person who looked mildly pleased was Belle. 'The border…' she breathed quietly. The group turned to look at her and she smiled excitedly. 'The curse on the border must have broken'.

Regina frowned. During the days after Rumple's death, while they hadn't known that the thing destroying parts of the town was her mother, several of the townspeople had simply wanted to leave. Instead, through experiment, they had discovered that leaving the town caused you to lose your memories of your life in the Enchanted Forest, so that you went back to the way you were before the original curse was broken. In retrospect, perhaps Belle was right. Regina held her hands up for silence and closed her eyes, concentrating her magic on the source and meaning of the spell. Her eyebrows went up. 'She's right. It looks like we can leave now'.

There was a silence. Finally Granny said, 'and? Is that all? I mean…why haven't we gone home?'

Regina shrugged again. 'Perhaps there isn't any land to return to. Gold was the original creator of the Dark Curse. I believe that he wanted to bring himself here for a reason, and perhaps he wanted to leave the town'.

Belle frowned at the mention of the man she had loved. It seemed that she was still the only person that had seen any good in him. 'He did…' she trailed off, thinking hard.

'So there is really no way of going home?' persisted Grumpy.

Regina forced herself not to roll her eyes. Then again, she had never been overly fond of their world. That world had never been kind to her. 'I may have a way. But I won't be able to perfect it straight away. Give me time'. In truth, she knew exactly how to return them to the Enchanted Forest. The portal was locked in the safe in her office.

Snow nodded, smiling a little at her step-mother. 'We have faith in you'.

Belle looked up at Regina, a strange expression on her face. 'Regina, can I have a word?'

Regina inclined her head. She owed the woman in more ways than one. She turned to Daniel and kissed him on the cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment on the skin. 'I'll be right back'. She looked down at Henry and touched him on the cheek affectionately before following Belle down the street, just out of hearing of the group.

The woman gave her a quick nervous smile. She spoke slowly, as if she was having trouble getting her thoughts in order. 'I…do you think you could track someone for me? I mean, someone outside the town?'

Regina didn't bother to hide her surprise. 'Who could you want to track outside Storybroke?'

Belle bit her lip, her expression conflicted. 'Mr Gold's son. That was the reason why he brought everyone here. Something happened in his past that caused them to get separated when they were both trying to get to this world. As a result, Gold stayed in the Enchanted Forest and his son, Baelfire, came here. He'd be an adult by now'.

Regina hesitated. 'I don't…I think so. I've never attempted to track anyone before. I think I would need something of his. I might be able to do it with something of Gold, and use his DNA to track his son'. She frowned slightly. 'Why do you want to track down his son?'

Belle shifted slightly. She didn't enjoy talking about Gold's time as the Dark One. 'Baelfire believes that his father abandoned him. I loved Gold, and he died to save me. The least I could do for him is to try and get his son to understand that he loved him'. Her eyes shone with tears as she spoke, her voice shaking with barely contained emotion. She might have mourned for the man while she was imprisoned with nothing else to think of, but it would take a long time for her to find the strength or the will to move on. She would never forget him, the monster who was in fact a man.

Regina frowned. 'Are you sure? I have a way of getting us back to the Enchanted Forest, and I don't know how long I can keep its existence from Snow and James. Don't you want to go home?'

To her surprise, Belle shook her head. 'I never liked our world. We may belong there, but it wasn't really my home. I don't think I could be happy there without him'. She didn't need to say his name for Regina to understand who she was talking about. The miserable expression on her face said it all. 'If you have a way to return everyone home, use it. No matter when you all return, I won't be going with you'.

Regina smiled wryly, understanding Belle's choice. 'If you're sure, then I'd be happy to help you track this man down. And I have plenty of money that I won't be able to use in the Enchanted Forest that you're welcome to have'. Her eyes became haunted. 'I owe you'.

Belle looked down, surprised by the woman's offer. She twisted her hands together. 'Look… I…I'm sorry. For…killing your mother'. She couldn't hate this woman, not anymore. Not when she had some inkling of how she had become the woman she was today. Not when she knew firsthand what it felt like to lose the person you loved.

Regina flinched perceptibly. She too looked away, blinking back the threatening sting in her eyes. A muscle in her jaw jumped repeatedly as she tried to keep herself from blubbing. 'I should be thanking you', she gasped, tilting her head back to look at the clouds above. 'You saved my life. You probably don't find it difficult to believe that my mother would have killed me if you hadn't intervened. She wouldn't have stopped at the last minute'. Her eyes closed and she swallowed with some difficulty, a few salt tears leaking into the hair at her temples. 'But I can't. That's the thing; I just can't be pleased that she's dead. Helping you is the best I can do right now'.

Belle hesitated briefly. Then she reached out and touched Regina's shoulder lightly. 'I wouldn't want you to be pleased that she's dead. The fact that you grieved for her, that you're still upset about her, proves that you're not the woman you once were. You're a lot different from the evil queen who used to visit my dungeon, or the mayor I saw once a month. You're…' she trailed off and shrugged, a little lost for words. 'Look, I loved a man that most people believed to be a monster. Forgiving you was surprisingly easy'.

Regina gave her a watery yet grateful smile. 'I'll will do my best to find his son once you bring me something that belonged to him, or such like. And I will create an account for you before you go. You may want to spend as much time learning the ways of this world before you go. It's a lot different to the Enchanted Forest, believe me'. She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the group still in front of the hospital. Her eyes lingered for a moment on Daniel and Henry before she turned back and took a deep breath. She was trying to be better, and there was still one thing she had to say. 'I'm sorry. For locking you up, for keeping you alive only as a bargaining chip to use against Gold. I'm sorry that my mother killed him. I'm sorry…' she stopped and raised her eyes to look at Belle, her palms up in a gesture of helplessness. 'I'm just sorry'.

Belle smiled. She reached out again and touched her arm, her fingers curling lightly in a gesture of understanding, her eyes shining with gratitude. 'Thank you'. To her slight surprise, it meant a lot to hear the apology from the former Evil Queen. She wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason some small, repressed part of her soul that burned with resentment and anger, was soothed. In a way, she felt free, like Regina's words had just struck a match, shinning a path towards a brighter future. Because now she felt like there was a possibility that she could move on.

* * *

There was silence in the bedroom. Daniel shifted under the warm covers, watching the pattern of sunlight in Regina's dark hair. Regina lay with her head resting on his shoulder, tracing the scars on his strong chest below the blanket. They were unfamiliar, testimony to a part of his life she hadn't been there to witness. Her gentle fingers followed a long vivid blemish down his lean torso, memorising the change to his body. Daniel massaged her shoulder with his thumb in a slow soothing motion, his hand occasionally dipping below the sheets to run over her bare back carefully, mindful of the healing cuts and bruises. His left arm lay over the covers, holding her tightly against him, as if he would never let her go.

Regina's mind drifted, welcoming the comfortable silence between them. It had been good to escape from the world to Mary Margret's small apartment. Everyone had agreed that they were going to retire to bed, and Regina was pretty sure that she was going to stay there for at least week. She was so exhausted. The family, she started when she realised that she had included herself in that word, had eaten a brief, yet filling meal, before taking turns to have a very long, much needed shower. She stretched her legs, gratified at the feel of fresh sheets on clean skin. It felt so _good_ to be clean again, to be rid of all the dirt and blood. At times, she had wondered whether she would ever feel clean again.

They were in the second bedroom on the second floor, and Henry was currently sleeping with Emma in the loft. He'd assured his mum that he would alternate between their beds, but Regina was pretty sure that he would immediately fall asleep. She'd returned the necklace to him, wanting him to have a well-rested sleep without having to worry about being plagued by nightmares. She was almost too exhausted to sleep, and she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to. She didn't want to relive what had happened in those cells. 'Daniel?'

The man continued to gaze at the ceiling. 'Hmm?'

'Do you want to go back to our land?'

He turned his head to the side and looked down into her dark eyes. 'You have a way?'

She bit her lip, propping herself up on her elbow so that she could look at him properly. 'I do. I just want to know what you think first'.

His arm tightened around her waist. 'I just want to be with you. I'd be happy so long as I don't have to leave your side again'.

She smiled softly, warmth flooding her chest at his words. She kissed his cheek before saying, 'I feel the same Daniel, but I do want to know what you think. Would you want to go back?'

He frowned slightly, his gaze pensive. Then he said slowly, 'I think so. I may have some bad memories about that place, but there are plenty of things to treasure about it. It's where I met you after all. I was happy there. It's the only world I've ever known…at least; the only one I want to remember. This world seems very confusing and strange. So yes…I think I would like to go back'. He looked back at her, only to frown in concern when he saw the guilt in her eyes. 'Regina, what is it?'

She closed her eyes. 'I'm so sorry for sending you to that place. First I nearly got you killed, and then I –'

He cut her off with a kiss. After a moment, he pulled away and cupped her cheek, looking down into her eyes with a fierce expression on his face. 'Don't. Don't blame yourself. Those things were not your fault. That was Cora. You did not put me in danger by loving me Regina, and even if you did, I wouldn't change a day of it. They were the happiest moments of my life. You didn't know that your mother would take it that far. You didn't know where you were sending her. _Cora_ nearly killed me. _Cora_ took me to that world. _Cora_ Regina, not you. I want you to promise me that you won't think that way, that you will stop blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault'. His eyes softened. 'You already feel enough guilt for what you _did_ do. You don't need to add your mother's crimes'.

Tears were spilling from her eyes by the time he had finished. She nodded, her eyes closing as pain suffused her face. Without hesitation, Daniel pulled her as close as possible, tucking her head under his chin as his strong arms wrapped around her back. She buried her face against his neck, and sobbed quietly. 'I just…I can't …I loved her, and sometimes it's easier to pretend that she wasn't responsible for what she did. That she was mad or under some spell or just not aware of what she was doing.' she closed her eyes, breathing in his smell as she tried to steady her emotions. 'I loved her, even after all she did, even though she hurt me in a way no one should be hurt. What does that say about me?'

He rubbed her back soothingly, a lump forming in his throat in the face of her pain and confusion. 'Nothing bad Regina. All it says is that you are capable of love, capable of forgiveness. You forgave your mother like you forgave Snow, and you understand that Snow was not to blame while your mother was. You loved your mother because she is your mother, in the same way that Snow has never really been able to hate you, just like you could never go through with killing her. All that matters now is that you don't forget that love is strength, and that you have people who love you'.

She smiled despite her tears. He was right in so many ways. Perhaps she could work towards repairing her relationship with Snow. But there was one thing still on her mind. 'Daniel… do you think that she ever loved me?'

The strangled hope in her voice nearly reduced him to tears. It was just so unfair. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady. 'I…I think that she did once, in her own strange way. From what I saw of her before her time in the Void, I think that she did love you. The Void changed her. She was always interested in Dark Magic, but the lure of the Dark One became an obsession. I think that she still loved you when she arrived here, but becoming the Dark One was the last straw. I think that as the Dark One, she couldn't feel anything but hate and anger, but she could remember that she had loved you, and she tried to act on that. But by that time I think she _was_ mad. She couldn't love you, and she couldn't let you love her. What do you think?'

Regina thought of that moment back in the cell, just after she had broken the Dark One's dagger. For a moment there, just before Cora had attempted to kill her, she had thought that she had seen…_something _in her mother's eyes, something other than the black abyss of hate and rage. And then that brief second just before Cora had died, when her eyes had changed to the soft brown that sometimes haunted her dreams, and she had tried to speak. In that moment, Cora had looked like the woman that sometimes lingered on the edge of her memory, those brief flashes that you sometimes remember about your early childhood. _Something_ had changed then, and Regina couldn't help but hope that her mother had found some sort of peace in death. Regina nodded slowly, her mind conjuring the faintest memory of a young, dark haired woman dancing in front of a fire, a small baby resting in her arms. 'I think she did…once'.

* * *

Regina awoke with a start. It took her a moment to recognise her surroundings. She was lying in bed in Mary Margaret's apartment, and arms holding her close from behind were Daniel's. She could feel him breathing softly against the back of her neck, the steady rhythm reassuring her that he was still asleep.

She could barely remember what had woken her, but the knowledge that she was meant to be somewhere else was so strong that she found herself slipping carefully out of the bed. She was dressed in a burrowed pyjama shirt and she shivered against the night cold. Leaning over, she pulled the covers back up around Daniel's half naked form and tucked the edges around him to keep the cold away. Then she looked for some clothes. The shirt and pants she had arrived in were ruined beyond compare, soiled with dirt and blood, and she had no desire to wear those. She picked up the pyjama bottoms from the floor and slipped them on. She wrote a quick note incase Daniel woke before she returned, and then slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.

She paused on the stairs, listening to the quiet. It was dark in the apartment, the only light coming from Emma's open door. It seemed that Henry had wanted to sleep with the light on. She hesitated, fighting the urge to go and check on her son. Her motherly instincts won out over her need to be somewhere else. Quietly, she padded across the floor in stockinged feet and peered around the corner of the door frame. She could barely see Henry for the tangle of sheets and blonde hair. Emma seemed to be holding their son tightly in her sleep, the covers twisted like a cocoon around them both. Emma was snoring softly in her sleep. A smile curved Regina's lips at the strangely familiar sight. Henry seemed to have inherited his ability to completely entangle himself in his sheets from his mother.

She stopped herself, surprised once again by the easiness of the words. It was startling to realise that the transition from hating the idea of Emma being in Henry's life to actually liking it had gone unnoticed. Just like feeling like she had become part of the Charming family felt comfortable. Though the first realisation had nearly knocked her over.

Satisfied that her absence wouldn't be noticed, she descended the stairs quickly but quietly and crossed the room. She reached the door quickly and grabbed a long dark coat hanging from the coat rack. She slipped the familiar coat around her, sighing as the warm material settled around her shoulders. When her mother had set the mayoral mansion on fire, Henry had convinced his mother to stay in the apartment with him, even though the house hadn't been damaged that much. He had been scared, she realised now.

Buttoning up the coat and donning a pair of her boots, she opened the front door and stepped into the cold night. It was only after she had closed the door that she hesitated. What if this strange compulsion was actually a trap? _A trap by who exactly? My mother is dead, I need to remember that. _Setting her jaw determinedly, Regina walked away from the apartment and down the street, setting a course back to the place that she had never wanted to return to. There was something she needed to do.

* * *

The place she had been imprisoned in for over two weeks was not as big as she had imagined. It was little more than a small ordinary cottage. It was what lay below the cottage that was impressive. Cora seemed to have extended the small wine cellar for miles around. Regina stood on the first step, gazing down into the cells below. Her breathing sounded far too loud in the heavy silence. The silence spoke of pain and suffering, and the air wafting from below stank of blood and death. Her heart pounded.

She steeled herself. She had come this far, and there was really no point turning back now. She was trying to do better for Henry, for Daniel, and she knew that being better meant freeing the man she could sense still down there. Holding her palm out in front of her, she conjured a flame in her hand. The shadows leapt back, revealing the way down clearly. With her heart in her mouth, she descended the stairs.

In the half shadows and the flickering light from her fire, the destruction caused by her magic seemed far worse than she remembered. As did the dried blood pooling in the cracked stones at her feet. She wrenched her eyes away, swallowing the tears, and moved towards the end of the basement. On Snow and James's request, the dwarves had collected Cora's body and buried her in the cemetery, marking her grave with a simple stone. Regina would visit it later and carve some script into the stone, but that was for another day. Still, even without the body, the memory of what had happened here was nearly enough to send her sprinting for the surface where she could find safety under the light of the moon.

The sound of her boots on the stones echoed through the darkness, bouncing around the stoned room. Regina concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and following the tracing spell she had cast when she woke up, after accidentally locating the person in her sleep.

It seemed to take forever, but at last she reached the cell almost at the very end of the room. Clenching her fingers, she caused the flames to reach higher, casting the cell before her in a welcoming warm glow. She flicked her fingers at the lock and opened the barred door, stepping into the cell with little more than a brief hesitation. Her dark eyes gazed down at the man chained to the wall with pity, a little guilt, and relief that he was still alive. 'Hello Jefferson'.

The Mad Hatter looked up at her, squinting against the sudden light, peering past the flames to her face. It took him a moment to recognise her. 'Regina?' He sounded surprised. Regina reflected that she did probably look completely different to when he had last seen her. Her face was free of make-up and littered with bruises and cuts. The nail marks down her neck were still startlingly vivid against her olive skin. The man raised an eyebrow. 'You look awful'.

Regina stifled a laugh. 'You don't look much better yourself, Jefferson'. The man's once white shirt was stained with grime and dried blood, spotted here and there with patches of bright red. His wrists were bound above his head, and his forearms were caked with dried blood that had leaked from the places where the manacles had rubbed into his skin. His left eye was swollen shut and there was a long half-healed cut marring his cheek. Regina's brow furrowed. 'What did you do to her?'

Jefferson's lips twisted into something that resembled a smile. He shrugged his shoulders, wincing as the manacles shifted against his raw wrists. 'Nothing. I don't think she needed a reason to imprison me other than the fact that she found me. I'm surprised that she let you escape, Regina. In fact, I'm astounded that you risked being captured to simply come and talk to me'.

Regina continued to frown at him. There was something different about him. Something about the way he was talking, about the way he was looking at her. An idea began to form at the back of her mind. Carefully, she extended her mind towards the man's and her eyes widened in surprise. It seemed that the name the Mad Hatter was no longer suitable for him. She knew that her surprise was showing. 'I…Jefferson, my mother is dead'.

It was hard to tell whether the man was more surprised at the statement or at the sadness in her voice. And with his battered face, it was hard to tell whether she had seen a momentary flash of pity, or if it had just been a muscle spasm. She was inclined to think it was the latter. Jefferson sighed heavily. 'That still doesn't answer the question as to why you're here'.

Regina flexed her fingers. The flames flicking above her hand floated up into the air, hovering directly above their heads. She waved her hand, and the chains binding Jefferson to the wall broke. She grabbed his arm to prevent him from crashing to the ground, setting him down on the cold dirty floor. 'I figured that trying to be better for someone includes more than just the bare minimum. I knew you were here, and in Henry's eyes it would be wrong to leave you here'. She sent him a slight glare, one that was merely a shade of what she had once been capable of. 'So don't think that I am doing this for you. This is for Henry'. _And for Daniel_. She wasn't quite ready to let the man know that Daniel was still alive, not until she knew that the restoration of his sanity was permanent. And there was a small part of her that wasn't ready to let him let go of his guilt for what he had done.

At her words, Jefferson felt his injuries heal, and he gave her a slight nod to indicate that he understood. They were by no means on good terms, but with the return of his sanity perhaps he would be less inclined to try killing her. Regina helped him to stand and took a step back, placing herself a comfortable distance away before saying, 'I actually need your help'.

He cocked an eyebrow, adjusting his ruined shirt as he spoke. 'I appreciate your help Regina, but I don't think that I owe you anything'.

Her eyes flashed. 'Perhaps not. But this isn't for me. There is someone else here, a man, who is in no current condition to move. All I ask is that you help me to carry him somewhere'.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'Can't you use magic?'

She shifted uncomfortably, her gaze travelling to the ground. It still hurts to think about what transpired here. 'I…my mother hurt me far more than she hurt you, even if you don't wish to believe that. The…events weakened me greatly, and the effort to escape cost me most of my remaining strength. Cora proceeded to try and kill me again before Belle intervened, though my mother nearly succeeded. So yes, I could use magic, but I'd prefer to not have to for very long. If you could help me to carry him halfway I'd be grateful'. The last word seemed to stick in her throat, but it was sincere none the less.

Jefferson watched her, a slight frown creasing his brow. This was not the Evil Queen, or even the mayor, that he remembered. To the contrary, this woman seems a lot more like the girl he met when he was apprenticed to Rumplestiltskin. A stab of guilt hit his heart and he wrestled with it stubbornly. He couldn't help but feel guilty for having some part to play in taking that young, still surprisingly innocent woman, and turning her into one of the most feared women in the Enchanted Forest. He hadn't expected his deal with Rumple to go that wrong.

The long shot of it was that Jefferson, along with a man by the name of Viktor Frankenstein, had promised Regina that they could bring her true love back to life. When it had come down to it, Frankenstein had broken his deal with Rumple and _had _actually followed through with his promise to Regina, attempting to bring Daniel back to life. His reasoning at the time had been that he wanted to test the process before attempting it on his own brother. To the man's shock, the body had turned out to be some sort of optical allusion that had exploded during the process. Rumple hadn't been pleased that they had changed the deal, but the traumatising ordeal had been even more effective than he had hoped for, so he had given Frankenstein a heart and sent them on their way. Even then, sane as he had been, he never could have imagined that Regina would become so…murderous.

'Jefferson?' Regina snapped her fingers in the man's face, her eyebrows raised. 'Well?'

He sighed. Perhaps this would help to ease that guilt. It hadn't affected him at all when he was mad, but in the moments leading up to his madness he could understand why Regina had left him in Wonderland. Now that he had regained his sanity, thanks to Cora's twisted version of amusement, that guilt was back full force. Cora had been very intrigued by his insanity, and she had thought that it would be fun to make him sane again, only to attempt to torture him back into insanity. He shivered. The woman hadn't got very far, as she had concentrated mostly on her daughter, but he was beginning to think that it was a miracle that Regina had managed to hold onto her sanity. 'Fine. Where is this man?'

Regina turned and walked out of the cell, the ball of flame bobbing along behind her. 'Follow me'.

The formerly mad hatter followed the former queen back through the dungeon, listening to the sound of boots clacking on stone. The rhythm was a surprisingly blessed change from the endless silence that had previously been his only company.

As Regina began to walk up the staircase, the Jefferson paused, staring down at the blood stained stones. Regina halted, glancing over her shoulder as she realised that he wasn't following her, and swallowed heavily when she saw what he was looking at. He brought his gaze back up to hers. When Cora had dragged him past the cell containing the Charmings and their former enemy, he had seen the condition she had been in, which at the time had been far worse. Not long after his imprisonment, he had heard the screams. Even then, before the return of his sanity, he had known who those screams belonged to.

Without a word, the man turned away from the mark and began to walk up the stairs, taking Regina by the arm and leading her up the steps. She followed him, just as she once had as Rumplestiltskin's youngest apprentice.

* * *

The room was very small, little more than a cupboard. And lying sprawled across a small bench was the man she had been searching for. She stared down at his wooden face for a moment. She'd never seen anything like it. 'Pinocchio'.

August had gone missing not long after the curse had broken, and despite Emma's frantic efforts to find him, there had been no sign of him since. She'd only discovered he was here when she'd telepathically searched the house's boundaries for her son, just to ensure that he really was here. She'd found that she could sense people's presence, but that she couldn't detect their location. Certain people, such as Cora and Daniel, had been protected by a spell, as Cora had predicted that Regina would attempt something of the sort.

Aside from her desire to be better for Henry, she really had no idea what had possessed her to come and retrieve this man, who was literally no more than a puppet now. Well, she had some idea. She owed Emma. Whether or not attempting to save this wooden man was a step towards repaying that debt, she wasn't entirely sure. But she would have had to be completely blind to miss the desperation the fuelled Emma's search, or the spark of hope that brightened her face whenever she heard about a possible lead.

And when Regina had offered to try and find the man over diner, Emma had practically choked on her food. Regina had explained that it was a test, as she had promised Belle that she would try and find Rumplestiltskin's son, but she had other motives. Emma had become something of a friend now, and she had the strangest desire to see Henry's other mother happy. Though, perhaps August and Emma's friendship would remain just that, but you never could tell.

She cocked her head to the side. _Well their relationship is definitely doomed if I can't find some way to turn him back into a human. _

Leaning forwards, she brushed her fingers over the puppet's face, searching for any signs of life. She was not expecting the eyes to snap open. She jumped back, startled greatly as she stared into the man's bright blue eyes. _Okay…literally a live puppet. _The wooden mouth moved and a strange grating voice issued from the hard lips. 'Madame Mayor…'

She bit her lip. He sounded like he was in pain. Looking at him closely, she realised with some shock that his wooden legs and arms had been broken, twisted at odd angles. Her mother, it seemed, had also discovered that the man was still living. A flash of guilt and shame wracked her body, and she tried half-heartedly to ignore it. Despite what Daniel had said, she did feel guilty for what her mother had done to these people. Cora wasn't around to feel that guilt anymore. 'Regina please, August, I haven't been mayor for quite some time'. She ran her fingers over the splinted wood of his arms and legs, watching as they snapped back into place. She smiled at him, catching a glimpse of relief and thankfulness in his eyes. 'I'm here to help you'.

At her nod, Jefferson stepped forwards and hoisted the wooden man over his shoulder. He weighed surprisingly little. With Regina leading the way, they left the place that had been their prison for weeks.

* * *

'Just here is fine Jefferson'.

The man halted under a street light, narrowing his eyes at Regina. 'There isn't anything here'.

She sighed and raised her hand, gesturing to the house across the street. 'I may not be able to forgive you for what happened, but I understand what it is like to lose a child, and to feel like you might never see them again'.

Jefferson stared at her for a moment, understanding slowly creeping up on him. He turned to look at the house across the street. The lights were on, and he could hear the faint sounds of a movie being played on the television. He swallowed. And despite his better judgement, he found himself speaking. 'I abandoned her Regina. She'll hate me for that'.

Regina's eyebrows shot up her forehead. 'Jefferson…you didn't abandon her. And even if you did, you're her father and she still loves you. You've done far less than I have, far less than my mother has, and Henry still loves me'. Her eyes closed as if she was in pain. 'I still love my mother, and I should hate her more than anyone else. You can bet that she still loves you. As for abandoning her…it'll take work, believe me all relationships do, but even if you have to spend the rest of your life making it up to her, at least you'll be with her'.

He stared at her. For a moment, it was easy to forget what she had done to him, easy to pretend that she was the woman he had once gotten along with as Rumplestiltskin's apprentice. 'Is that what you're doing now? Attempting to make it up to Henry, even though he doesn't know what you're doing?'

She nodded. 'One thing I've learned Jefferson, is that children are far more perceptive than adults. And it's the principle of the thing. Even if he doesn't put two and two together when he hears that you've returned to your daughter, even if he doesn't know that it was my doing, _I_ will know. And that's the whole point of trying to be good. I can never make up for what I've done to people, I understand that, but at least I can try and make amends with myself'. She shrugged. 'I may have to spend my entire life making it up to everyone in this town who at least deserves my apology, but I might not'. An amused smile played about her lips. 'They say that the road to forgiveness comes from the gates of hell'. Her eyes landed on the man Jefferson was carrying over his shoulder. 'I can at least start somewhere'.

Jefferson nodded. Their situations were surprisingly similar, at least when it came to their children. Carefully, he laid that wooden man on the ground. Then he walked away from the pair under the bright street light and towards the house on the other side of the street. He climbed the steps slowly, as if he still feared that his daughter would hate him. Regina could sympathise with that. She crossed her fingers behind her back as the man who had once been something of a friend pressed the doorbell. The melodic sound rang through the house and rebounded down the quiet street. For a long moment, all was still. Then the front door swung wide open. A young girl with blonde hair stood in the doorway, dressed in pyjama's patterned with caterpillars and butterflies. For one second, she stared up at the man standing on her doorstep. Then with a cry of 'Papa!' the young girl threw herself into the man's waiting arms, headless of the blood and dirt coating his clothes. Jefferson caught her and pulled her close, his eyes closing as he was finally able to hold her again. He opened his eyes, unsurprised to find that they were full of tears, and nodded across the street.

Whether it was a gesture of thanks or forgiveness or simply acknowledgement, Regina returned it with a smile. Then she turned away from the reunion between father and daughter and waved her hand at the wooden man. He floated into the air, hovering just at waist height. She took a deep breath and continued her way down the dark street, back towards May Margret's apartment, and the people who had become her family.

* * *

**_Okay, so as I know that there was a lot happening in that chapter, I'll just clear a few things up. First of all, Regina/Jefferson/Frankenstein past. In this version, instead of deceiving Regina, Frankenstein decided that he would try the procedure on Daniel, as he thought it would be best to test it before trying it on his brother. But, because Daniel wasn't actually dead, the body was just an illusion, and it exploded when it came into contact with the lightning. Regina was severally traumatised, and when she discovered that Rumple had in listed both men, she believed that they did it on purpose, hence her hate for Jefferson. _**

**_Another thing, Belle is going to cross the town border in search of Rumple's son. Let me know if you want that little subplot continued._**

**_So please review and let me know what you think! Did you like the scene between Jefferson and Regina and Jefferson's reunion with his daughter? _**


	9. Wooden Hands and Healing Hearts

_**Okay, so before we start this chapter, I really must apologise for the length of time this has taken. I really can't say sorry enough times. Trouble began with a mental block and then I had to sideline this for school work. Like, a lot of school work. Anyway, I am really sorry, and I hope that you can all forgive me :)**_

_**After this chapter, there is probably only one more left. Depending on what you all want, I may do an epilogue, but currently I'm pretty sure there is only one more chapter. We are ending the end of this fic either way, and I'd just like to thank you all for sticking with this, spelling mistakes and late updates and all those little grammar errors, for so long. **_

_**So thank you, and I hope you like this chapter.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 9 ~ Wooden Hands and Healing Hearts **_

By the time she reached Mary Margaret's apartment, the exertion of carrying August's wooden form had exhausted her greatly. The effort pounded behind her eyes, and she could see her breath on the cold air as she exhaled raggedly. Her hands were shaking as she leaned against the door, bowing her head against her chest as she tried to regain her energy. She hadn't quite realised how little of her magical strength she had regained. The wooden puppet remained suspended in the air beside her, and she could feel the man's eyes like pinpricks between her shoulder blades. She felt almost like he was admonishing her for making such a critical mistake. What might have happened if she had run out of energy before she reached the apartment?

Her cold hands found the door handle, and it took an alarming amount of effort to actually open the door. August floated in behind her and she shut the door carefully, doing her best to avoid waking the inhabitants of the house.

She deposited the wooden man on the couch, breathing a sigh of relief as she severed the spell. Faint warmth flooded her body as a little of her strength returned, and she sat down on the arm of the chair as the pounding in her head lessened. She stared down at the figure on the couch thoughtfully, though in reality she could see very little of him in the darkness. The only break in gloom came from Emma's room, where a thin beam of light poured through the crack and over the worn floorboards.

She was a little lost as to how to even begin fixing August. She wasn't exactly sure how his curse worked, never mind how to unravel it. The simplest option would be to find his true love and get them to kiss him. Unfortunately, she wasn't even sure if he had one. Then again, Emma had been very worried about him… Now that was a thought. Perhaps she should get the saviour to kiss him. Though that might be a difficult undertaking in itself. Even if Emma did love him, or was on the verge of loving him, she probably didn't believe that herself.

Right now though, she was exhausted and drained, and she wanted to return to the safety and comfort of Daniel's arms. She started a little, a surge of warmth and emotion flooding her stomach, pulsing up through her torso to settle comfortably in her chest. It was like plunging into what appeared to be ice cold water, only to discover that it was pleasantly warm. She found herself smiling in the dark, and a soft laugh echoed into the far corners of the room.

Would she ever get used to the knowledge that the man she loved had returned, and that he was here to stay?

'Regina?'

The woman started, losing her precarious balance on the arm of the couch and landing awkwardly on her side on the pillows. She stood up hastily, her heart rate quickening slightly from the surprise. She let out a breath she hadn't been aware of holding when she saw Snow leaning against the kitchen counter, cradling a cup of steaming liquid in her hands. The younger woman smiled slightly at her step-mother's reaction, holding up a hand in apology. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you'.

Regina returned the smile, albeit a little hesitantly. The sight of her step-daughter was enough to remind her that not all was well in the world. While Daniel had returned to her, she had also lost the one person whose love she had always longed for so desperately. She might not hate Snow any longer, but her presence still brought back some of the sorrow and grief that had always been present in her life. Maybe that would never change, but at least she no longer had a desire to see the other woman suffer. Perhaps that was because she realised that she had suffered, just as Regina herself had suffered, and it was time that that stopped. There had been enough suffering and misery between them for more than a lifetime.

With that in mind, she crossed the room towards Snow and mirrored her posture by leaning over the counter towards her. 'I'm just a little on edge, that's all. Couldn't sleep?'

Snow turned her eyes away, perhaps feeling the same confliction as the woman she still loved. 'I had nightmares. I was thinking about the times I would sneak into your bed when I was a child. Aside from James, you were the only one who could ever really make them go away. Do you remember?'

Regina felt her throat tighten. She didn't like to think about her time as the Queen, when she had still loved Snow, and when that love had been the only tie keeping her anchored to the world. Once her time as Rumplestiltskin's apprentice had effectively severed that bond, there had been nothing left to prevent her from slipping into the darkness that had welcomed her with open arms. She didn't like to think about the abuse she had suffered at the hands of the King, and how that abuse had driven her straight into Rumplestiltskin's plans. 'I remember'.

Snow's hands tightened around the steaming mug until her knuckles whitened. 'I…I loved my father. I still love him. Nothing will change that. But I'm sorry for what he did to you. I'm sorry that I never noticed what he was doing. I'm sorry that you were forced into that life'. The young woman gazed into Regina's dark eyes, desperate for the same forgiveness she had received in the cell. They were in a different situation now, discussing something that made Snow feel physically sick, and there was no belief that they could die at any moment hanging over their heads. Just an old, old wound that had never truly healed properly.

She couldn't see Regina properly in the darkness. The light from Emma's room cast a faint light onto her face, throwing the majority of her expression into darkness. The warm light glinted in her right eye, and Snow was having trouble gauging Regina's emotions from what little she could see. All she did see was that Regina's eye had grown overly bright, and even in the darkness she could see that she was shaking. She wanted to step forwards and comfort her step-mother in the same way that Regina had comforted her once, but she didn't want to push her. They were at a very precarious stage in their slowly mending relationship. It could still all unravel from here.

Regina's hand lowered to her stomach nervously as her other hand moved up to cover her mouth. She had not had time to repair her walls, or to find some hold over her emotions. There was nothing to stop the tears from gathering behind her eyes, nothing to stop the memories from stirring nausea in her stomach. The words Daniel had spoken to her not long ago echoed in her mind, pushing away her natural instinct to lash out like wounded animal. She dry swallowed several times. 'It wasn't your fault Snow. You were a just a child. Even when I loathed you so completely as the Evil Queen, I never blamed you for what your father did'.

Snow couldn't stop herself. She reached out and touched Regina's arm, her fingers brushing against the woman's stomach. 'When you killed my father…that wasn't to get revenge on me, was it?'

Regina laughed, unable to prevent bitterness from creepy into her tone. 'No. When I killed your father, I killed him because of what he had done to me. It was nothing to do with you'.

Snow's fingers tightened a fraction, attempting to pull Regina away from the darkness growing in her eyes. The Evil Queen might have died in that cell, when Regina had finally apologised to Snow, putting years and years of hate and anger behind her, but there was still darkness inside her soul. Darkness that would take time and effort to erase.

Tactfully, Snow decided to change the subject. 'Where did you go?' She'd been so lost in her own thoughts that she had only noticed that Regina was in the room when she heard her laugh.

Regina beckoned to her, and Snow hurried around the kitchen bench to join the woman in front of the couch. Regina waved a hand at the immobile man on the couch. 'I went to retrieve August here'. She glanced at Snow out of the corner of her eyes, a little amusement creeping into her tone. 'Well, I promised Emma that I would attempt to find him, didn't I?'

Snow nodded, unable to take her eyes away from the man's wooden features. 'Oh, I remember. Emma nearly spilt her food all down her front. Not exactly lady-like, huh? Still, I don't think anyone expected you to do it right now, in the middle of the night'. Snow glanced at Regina. 'Regina? What is it?'

The woman had taken a step away from her step-daughter, her hand pressing protectively over her stomach as her other wiped frantically at the tears that had overflowed without her permission. She was irritated at herself for not even being able to control her tears. Oh there had been times that she had wanted to cry during the curse, times when Henry's comments became too much or the pain of Daniel's death refused to leave her, but she had always been able to wait until there were no witnesses before she actually spilled those tears. But the events of the past two weeks had stripped those defences, and with Daniel's presence and Henry's reaffirmed love, she had forgotten how to replace them. Snow's comment about Emma not behaving in a lady like fashion had hit the mark. Despite the fact that the younger woman had said it with clear affection and fondness, the echoes that Regina could hear in her mind were far less kind. How many times had she heard those words directed at her with snarls and smirks and disapproving looks?

Snow reached out a hand, trying to get the older woman's attention. She stared at the little of Regina's face she could see, and then mentally kicked herself. The comment had been off hand, but she should have known better. It was too soon. 'Regina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…'

Swallowing heavily, Regina waved her off, her face pale in the faint light. 'No, it's fine. I'm over reacting. What were you saying?'

Biting her lip and cursing herself for her foolishness, Snow repeated herself. 'I said that no one was expecting you to do it in the middle of the night'.

Regina shrugged, still refusing to move any closer to her step-daughter. 'I couldn't sleep. I figured that the sooner the better'.

'Didn't it occur to you that we might be worried about you, if we woke up and you weren't here?' Again, Snow kicked herself. Of course Regina hadn't thought about it. The woman had had less than twenty four hours to get accustomed to having people that cared about her. Snow ran a hand through her short hair. God, she was being incredibly insensitive.

Regina shook her head. 'I left a note for Daniel'.

Snow sighed heavily. 'Still, they would still be worried about you. It's only been a day since…the last time we woke up with someone missing, that person had been kidnapped'.

Regina flinched perceptively. She knew very well what Snow had been going to say. The unsaid words hung in the space between them, heavy and dense, full of all the years they had lost and all the feelings they had had, and everything that had driven them apart. All of that, summed up in a name that she didn't wish to hear. _Cora_. 'I…I didn't think. I didn't think it would matter. I thought I would be back before you woke up'.

Snow closed her eyes. She actually couldn't believe that she had just said that. That she had come so close to mentioning Cora twice in less than fifteen minutes. Regina had done something nice for her daughter, and all she had done in return was to bring up painful reminders of her own mother, and the events that had hurt Regina badly. Regina shifted uncomfortably, and the light from the bedroom moved down her throat, throwing the nail marks into sharp relief. Snow had not missed the way Regina winced if she moved in a way that pulled at her back. The woman carried physical reminders of what had happened. She didn't need Snow reminding her as well. Snow sighed in defeat. 'I really didn't mean to…thank you, for finding August. I don't know the exact relationship he has with Emma, but he means a lot to her. That much was always clear. I know that you have a lot to think about at the moment, like how to get us back and how to find Rumplestiltskin's son, so thank you for finding the time'.

Regina shrugged, still uncomfortable with the recognition. There were very few moments in her life when she had done something positive that someone had acknowledged. She wasn't quite used to the warm feeling it induced in her heart. She had told Jefferson that recognition didn't matter when you were attempting to redeem yourself, but it didn't hurt. 'You're welcome. I…I think I'll go back to bed, but I have something to discuss with you in the morning. It's to do with returning to our land'.

Snow felt excitement blossom inside her. After everything they had been through, the hope that they might be able to return to the Enchanted Forest was a welcome one.

Regina gave her step daughter a brief smile before glancing down at August. She leaned forwards slightly so that he could hear her. 'I can't do anything about your condition tonight, but I promise that I will find a way'. _It's what Emma would want, and therefore what Henry would want. I owe them. _

The wooden man's mouth twisted into something resembling a smile. 'Thank you…Regina'.

Regina reached out and touched him on the forehead, a little magic swirling around her finger. August's eyes drifted shut as the sleeping spell worked its way into his system. Regina doubted that he had gotten any sleep in that cupboard, and this spell would simply ensure that he slept dreamlessly. Regina turned back to Snow. The woman was watching her, a slightly stunned expression on her face. Something warm shone in her eyes, and Regina was slightly startled to recognise it as something akin to pride. 'What?' She didn't mean to sound so defensive, but that was a look she very rarely received.

Snow shook her head slightly. 'You react so well to love and affection. I don't think I ever really realised that. All that time we were trying to find a way to defeat you, when really all we needed was to show you the kindness that you should have had since you were a child. I should have known that'.

Regina had nothing to say to that. What could she say? It was something that had happened long ago, and something that couldn't be changed. It was the past that had led her to killing all those people. Besides, it wasn't like she actually would have let Snow close enough to let her love her. She needed to look forwards. She smiled slightly, small and reserved, an echo of the only smiles that had ever graced Leopold's court. 'Good night Snow'.

She left before the younger woman could deter her. There was an ache in her chest, like a thorn buried deep in her heart. She did regret what she had done. She regretted the deaths and the pain that had followed her like a shadow in the Enchanted Forest. She regretted not listening to her father when she had the chance. She regretted ripping her father's heart from his chest and using it to curse an entire world. How many people had been brought here that she didn't even know? How many innocents had inevitably suffered in her quest to destroy Snow White's happiness? It was that, in reflection, that made her the Evil Queen. The fact that she had been too cowardly to just go through with killing her step-daughter, and had instead destroyed many other lives in her round about version of revenge. She remembered something that Rumple had once said to her. _You're weak your majesty. All this talk of making Snow White suffer, it's just a ploy to hide your weakness. If you were strong, you would simply kill her. After all, there is nothing standing in your way. _Perhaps it was true. In the end, she hadn't even been able to kill her. Instead, she'd sent someone else to do it for her.

She paused in the entrance to the bedroom, her hand going out to rest on the door frame in an attempt to steady herself. Aside from her father's, Graham's death was the one she regretted the most. While she wouldn't say that he was an innocent (after all, there had been a reason why she had chosen him to kill Snow in the first place), he hadn't deserved the fate she had assigned to him. She could see that now. It startled her sometimes, looking back on her memories, just how malicious the Evil Queen had been. How dark and cold. That woman had been so full of hate and anger that Regina wasn't even sure if she had been human anymore. While Regina might not be excused for her actions, or even want to be, even she realised that there was a vast difference between herself and the woman who had terrorised the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps that was why Graham's death bothered her so much. He was the first person she had killed here in Storybroke, the only person in fact, and she had come here for a fresh start. She had come here with the intention of putting her past behind her. Unfortunately, she hadn't realised exactly what the curse would entail. She hadn't realised that she would be forced to repeat the same day, again and again and again. She'd been just as trapped as the other inhabitants of Storybroke, more so perhaps. Because they hadn't been aware of being trapped. They'd gone about their lives perfectly happy. While they might not have been living out their happy endings with those they loved, they hadn't known any better. In a way, she had been cursed. At least, the Evil Queen had been far more docile here. She couldn't excuse Graham's death. Oh, she had been upset alright. Upset about the curse weakening, about Emma's refusal to leave. Most of all, she had been upset about Henry's continuing need to distance himself from her, about all those comments that had succeeded in hurting her, about the fact that she couldn't show him that she loved him properly, because she didn't know how. In that moment, down in the vault, all of that had come rushing up to the surface with a vengeance, and perhaps the bitterness and misery had awoken the Evil Queen, if just for a moment. But if it had been the Evil Queen crushing the heart, then she shouldn't have felt as awful as she had. She shouldn't have stared at the pile of dust at her feet and suddenly wished that she could take it all back. She shouldn't have felt her throat tighten and her face dampen with tears. No. Perhaps a split second of the Evil Queen had taken her down those steps, but it was Regina and Regina alone that had taken the heart from its little box and crushed it. And for that, there would be no turning back, no forgiveness. It was that action that she was trying to make up for, more so than the dozens of lives she had destroyed in the Enchanted Forest. Because unlike those people, she had known Graham.

She shook herself, a small graceful movement of her shoulders. There would be plenty of time for regret later, but at the current time she was exhausted, and she didn't want to think about the things she had done. She wanted to pretend that she was still that young innocent girl that had fallen in love with a stable boy, and who had wanted nothing more than to curl up in her lover's arms. She wanted to pretend that her mother had not died, and that she had approved of her love, and that the years of suffering had never occurred. With a sigh, she stepped forwards into the bedroom and shrugged off her coat, slipping out of her boots as she hung it over a chair.

'Mom?'

Regina started, surprised for the second time that night. She turned towards the bed, her hands pressed over her stomach protectively. 'Henry?'

Daniel was sitting cross legged among twisted sheets, and Henry was sitting in the man's lap. Daniel had one arm around the young boy's shoulders, and Henry's head was resting back against his bare chest. It was such a domestic picture, so like a father comforting his son, that it threw her off balance. It was their expressions that really hit her though; an identical mix of concern and relief and something like anger that shone in the depths of Daniel's bright blue eyes.

Henry scrambled off the bed and hurried towards her, throwing his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. Her arms went around him automatically, her hand cupping the back of his head as he nuzzled his face against her pyjamas. 'Where were you?!'

Regina's throat tightened uncomfortably. She still wasn't used to having Henry show his concern so openly. Perhaps that was why she hadn't considered leaving a note for him too. 'I…I went for a walk'.

Daniel also stood, but he did not move towards her. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and folded his arms across his chest, his eyebrows raised in expectation. 'You left'.

She swallowed thickly. While she could tell that his anger was directed more towards her actions, rather than her, she couldn't help but feel something squirm inside her. She and Daniel had not had a relationship that was all calm and tranquil. They'd argued plenty when they were younger, and that had been part of the attraction. If they'd been so alike that they agreed on everything, it would have been a very boring relationship. She could remember a time when they had been children, and he had wanted to run away from the stables to join the army. They had argued passionately about it, because she hadn't wanted him to go to a war on the other side of the land. He'd wanted to prove himself, and he hadn't understood why she was against that. In the end, he had come to understand that she simply hadn't wanted to lose him. Even then, long before they had fallen in love, he had meant more to her than anyone else in the world. Usually, she was perfectly able to hold her own in their arguments. But this time she knew that she was actually in the wrong. She had left in the middle of the night with nothing more than a note that hadn't really said anything to console him if he woke, not twenty four hours after she had nearly died. She nodded. 'I left. I had something to do'.

Daniel sighed, and it struck her that he was probably just as exhausted as she was. 'And it couldn't wait til morning?'

Regina's hands tightened a little on the material of Henry's pyjama top. 'I suppose it could have. It seemed urgent, when I woke up'.

Concern and worry creased Daniel's forehead, but there was still anger in his eyes. 'Didn't you think that we might be worried, if we woke up?' The man wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and never let her go, but he needed her to know how much he had scared her. 'Regina, can you imagine what it was like for me, waking up without you by my side, when I'd only just got you back? You know perfectly well that a note is not enough. Would it have been enough for you, if I had left you?'

Regina stiffened noticeably. 'I don't need to imagine Daniel. I've woken alone for my entire life'.

'So have I. And for a long time I prayed that I would continue to wake alone, because I never wanted to wake with anyone but you, and yet I knew that I would never see you again'. Daniel sighed, the anger draining out of him. 'I just…I had no idea where you had been gone or what you were doing, and there are probably still plenty of people out there who wouldn't think twice about hurting you if they ran into you while you were on your own in the street. You should have told me. I'm back now. You don't need to do everything by yourself anymore'.

Regina's eyes closed, pain flittering like a shadow across her face. 'I'm just…not used to having someone. I've had to do everything by myself for so long. It's going to take a while for habits to change'.

His anger was still there, but now it was directed more at himself. He should have been more aware. He should have been there, even if she didn't need him. Daniel stood slowly and crossed the room. When he reached her, he reached out and took her hands as she released Henry. The little boy stood back, watching them with a little fascination. He had never seen true love in reality before. Watching them interact, even though there was tension between them, he could really see it.

Daniel held her hands gently in his, smoothing his thumbs over the backs of her hands soothingly. His hands were rough, the hands of a fighter as well as a worker, and the back of his right hand had a long gash across it. She avoided eye contact, keeping her eyes on his strong chest. He'd always been fit as a stable boy, but that had increased dramatically now. His muscles were lean and strong, gained in fighting. Eventually, she dragged her gaze up from his bare chest to look at him. She felt relief roll through her as she saw his smile. It was small and gentle, reassuring. 'Regina, you're going to have to get used to having people to look out for you'. He glanced at Henry. 'Henry here was very worried about you'.

Regina's heart swelled as she looked down at her son. 'You were?'

Henry nodded, smiling slightly. 'Come on mom, how would you feel if I ran off without any warning?'

The instant he said those words, he wished desperately that he could take them back. Regina's expression became haunted and guilty, her dark eyes shining with a misery that spoke of old wounds. God how could he be so stupid? She knew exactly how that felt, because he had been doing it since the moment Emma arrived in Storybroke. He would leave with no warning and no reassuring letter that he was safe and that she shouldn't worry. He simply hadn't cared about whether or not she would be worried for his safety. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was more that he hadn't let himself consider that she would care. He'd spent so long trying to convince himself that she was the Evil Queen that he had succeeded in blocking out his conscience. Because of course she had worried. She had worried and blamed herself and showed it by trying to pull him closer, which he had seen as her trying to stop him from figuring out how to break the curse. He'd never considered that maybe if he had shown her the love he always felt, then he might have been able to destroy the Evil Queen on his own.

He didn't give Regina a chance to speak. Instead, he lunged again and wrapped her in a hug, squeezing her waist in a way that he knew was far too tight, but he didn't care. The breath left Regina at the tight embrace, but she didn't hesitate to return the hug, ducking her head down against his hair as she stroked the back of his head. With his eyes still tightly closed, the young boy reached out a hand towards Daniel. The former stable boy took it, his larger hand nearly swamping Henry's, and then allowed himself to be pulled forwards to join the embrace. Daniel wrapped an arm around Regina's back, his other encircling Henry's shoulders. Regina leaned into him, her head tucked under his chin. 'I'm sorry for leaving'.

Daniel tightened his grip on her. 'I overacted. You scared me, that's all'. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. 'I love you'.

Regina felt very warm. Warm and cared for. She turned her head to nuzzle her nose against his neck. 'I love you too'.

A shriek broke the moment. Henry detached himself from the embrace, his eyes wide in horror and fear. 'That was Emma!'

Regina and Daniel followed Henry out of the room, fear lending their legs speed. They all had a similar thought. _What now?_

Regina hurried down the steps, a ball of flame held in her hand, only to stop when she took in the scene. Henry slammed into her back, knocking her off balance, and Daniel made a frantic grab for Regina's arm to prevent her from falling. His fingers closed around her arm, swinging her around and into his chest. Regina let out a laugh of relief, and Daniel smiled victoriously. The moment of triumph was lost however, when James appeared from the bedroom, sprinting out of the room and colliding into the couple before he could halt his progress. Daniel's precarious balance on the last step was lost, and together the pair toppled to the floor. Daniel landed on his back; Regina sprawled on top of him, her face mere inches away from his.

At the sight of Daniel's shocked expression and Regina's flustered one, Henry burst out laughing. A slow smile spread across Daniel's face and Regina started laughing too as a chuckle vibrated deep in the man's chest. The small apartment echoed with delighted and amused laughter as the other occupants joined in. Henry bent over, pressing his hands against his stomach as Snow slid to the floor, clutching at the edge of the kitchen counter to prevent herself from falling. James sat down heavily on the steps, his mouth open wide as his body shook with silent laughter. It was the first time that any of them had had cause to laugh in a long time, and it was that thought that had them laughing all the harder.

Eventually, the laughter died down, but afterwards the apartment seemed far less cold. Someone had switched the light on, flooding the living area and kitchen with warm yellow light. The laughter had chased away the danger that seemed to linger in the shadows.

Regina placed her elbows on Daniel's bare chest and propped her chin in her palms, a smile curving her lips as she watched her step-daughter pull herself up of the floor, her face streaked with tears of laughter. Henry sat on the step, tucked under James' arm, and there was a startling resemblance in their large grins.

It was very easy to imagine that they were all a perfectly normal family with no problems in that moment. Even more so when Daniel pushed his torso off the ground and leant back on his elbows, leaning forwards to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. She let out a surprised laugh against his mouth.

Henry watched his mother with a large smile. It was good to see her laugh, at least, more than just chuckle, when she'd had so little reason to for so long. He was glad that she could be brought out of her misery. He suddenly realised that Emma had not been laughing. He'd caught a brief glimpse of his other mother before he had run into Regina, and the sound of Snow's laughter had been enough to convince him that there was nothing majorly wrong. Now, he moved his eyes away from the couple on the floor to search for her again.

Emma was standing close to the kitchen counter, her hands over her mouth, her face transfixed with shock. Her eyes were wide, fixed on a point in front of her. Her blonde hair was tousled, her pyjama's askew, and her feet were bare. Henry followed his mother's gaze, and his jaw dropped in astonishment. There was a wooden man lying on his side on the couch, a blanket pulled up around his shoulders. 'August?'

Regina and Daniel pulled apart, and Regina rolled off her lover into a standing position. James stood from the steps and extended a hand to the man, and Daniel allowed the King to pull him to his feet. The three crossed the room to stand in front of the couch. Regina smiled slightly at the sleeping puppet. She wasn't at all astonished that he had slept through the noise. 'I gave him a little nudge to sleep deeply. He's been locked in a cupboard since the curse broke; I highly doubt that he would have gotten much sleep'.

Daniel turned to look at her, understanding dawning in his eyes. 'That's where you went? To rescue him?'

She wasn't sure whether it was because of the pride shinning in his eyes or because of the awed look that Henry was sending her way, but she felt a blush grace her cheeks. She nodded silently, feeling a little self-conscious with all the attention. At least, attention that was in no way negative. Daniel reached out and linked their fingers, and she felt a strength flow from his hand into hers, as a content feeling of warmth settled like a coat around her shoulders. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear. 'I'm sorry for being angry. I'm very proud of you'.

A smile graced her lips as Henry walked over to join them, taking her other hand in his smaller one and giving it a squeeze. 'You're changing mom. You're becoming a hero'.

She thought of Graham. She thought of her father and her mother. She thought of Henry's pale, immobile face as he lay in a hospital bed. She thought of the people she had killed, their voices like whispers at the back of her mind. She couldn't remember all her victims. Often, she hadn't even seen them face to face. But she remembered their voices, their pleas and their screams. She remembered the bitter taint to the smoke as the villages burned, and the cries that had floated towards her on the wind. She remembered the hearts she still kept in her vault, the way her hand had crushed them so easily. Her smile slipped slowly, until it was little more than a wistful tilt of her lips. 'Perhaps Henry. Perhaps'.

'Regina?' Regina turned her head to look at the blonde woman. A muscle jumped in Emma's jaw as she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her teeth. The young woman's hands were balled at her sides, and there was a hard cord standing out on her neck. 'Can I talk to you for a moment?'

Regina had been under the impression that Emma would be pleased to see August again. But the young woman looked far from happy when their eyes met. If anything, she looked angry.

* * *

Regina rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, resting her elbows on her knees as she yawned tiredly. Emma was pacing the length of the room, wringing her hands anxiously, her brows lowered into a fierce frown. The young woman had not yet spoken, and they had been in the room for a good fifteen minutes now.

Though she respected the fact that the blonde was clearly distressed and confused, the former queen was tired and a little impatient. She leaned back on her hands with an exasperated sigh. 'Emma, you wanted to talk to me, remember?'

With a heavy sigh, Emma began to speak, though she did not stop pacing. 'So he's been in a cupboard this whole time?'

Regina nodded slowly. She wasn't quite sure where this was going. 'It's not like you could have known. At the time, we didn't even know that the house existed, much less the cupboard'.

Emma waved a hand at this. 'I know that, I'm not an idiot'.

Regina fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. 'Then what's the problem?'

There was a little bitterness in Emma's voice was she spoke again. 'Couldn't you have given me some warning, before you turned up with him?'

Regina propped herself up on her elbows, arching an eyebrow as Emma met her gaze head on. 'I didn't realise that you would be so displeased to see him'.

Emma sighed again, her shoulders dropping. 'I'm not…it's just… can you fix him?'

Regina hesitated. Emma stopped pacing to look at her, a little panic and horror clouding her eyes. 'You can fix him, right?'

'Honestly? I have no idea. I don't understand the nature of his curse, nor the mechanics, and I can do very little to find a cure when I don't know the disease, can I?' She could hear the defensiveness in her tone; the irritation that Emma would think it was so simple.

That faded however, when she suddenly understood the expression behind Emma's panic. She was confused and a little scared. She wasn't quite sure what was frightening the younger woman, and she had a suspicion that Emma didn't either. But Emma was lashing out, and Regina could understand that very well. Emma ran a hand through her blond locks. 'But you could fix him, once you understood how it worked?'

Again, Regina hesitated. Then she nodded slowly. 'I believe I could. But it would take time. A long time. You must remember that August was originally a puppet. He wasn't a boy who was cursed to turn into a puppet. I would have to understand what turned him into a boy in the first place, and then find a way to make that permanent. And there would be also be the problem of ensuring that I didn't accidently turn him back into a boy. So yes, theoretically, I could'.

She saw the despair in Emma's eyes. 'Then again, there is another way'. The words slipped out without her permission, and she winced a little at the sudden hope that suffused Emma's face.

Emma crossed the room to stand beside her. There was urgency in her eyes that had not been there before. 'What is it?'

Regina sat up properly and looked up at Emma. She could easily believe that the woman would do anything to find a way to turn Pinocchio back into a man. 'True love's kiss would easily solve his problem'.

Emma's expression closed abruptly. She sat down on the bed beside Regina, folding her arms over chest tightly. 'Well, then obviously that is a problem, because as far as I know he doesn't have a true love'.

Regina pressed her lips together to prevent herself from speaking. Instead, she leaned back on her hands and stared at Emma, her eyebrows raised slightly, a little exasperation showing in her dark eyes. Emma could feel the woman's eyes boring into the side of her head, but she refused to look at her. The atmosphere thickened with tension as the two women played a very familiar battle of wills. Emma knew exactly what Regina was thinking, and she also knew that she had no desire to speak about that. The question had haunted her for as long as August had been missing, flittering in and out of her mind when she least expected it.

Regina sighed heavily, letting her head fall back on her shoulders until she stared at the head of the bed. Perhaps if she hadn't been so tired and so desperate to get back to bed, then she might have waited until Emma's patience finally snapped. 'On that subject Emma, have you ever been in love?'

Emma turned to look at her, a little taken aback. Daniel had asked her that very same question not so long ago. Regina rolled her head around and onto her shoulder, her eyebrows raised a little. Seeing Emma's reluctance, she gave the younger woman a slight, reassuring smile. 'Come on, I'm not exactly going to hold it against you, am I?'

That earned her a small laugh. 'It's not that. It's just not exactly easy to explain. And…it wasn't simple, not like you and Daniel'.

Regina cocked an eyebrow. 'I wouldn't exactly call a staged death by my mother's hand and over thirty years of separation simple'.

The familiar sarcastic and patronising tone to Regina's voice made Emma grin. Her smile soon faded however. 'That wasn't what I meant. I mean that…you've always known that you loved each other. Even when you thought he was dead, you knew that the years you had spent together were not a lie. You never had any doubt that he had always loved you'.

Regina sat up slowly, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows. She turned to face the blonde and crossed her legs. 'We had our arguments, especially when we were children, but yes…I suppose you could say that we've never doubted our love'.

Emma smiled bitterly. 'How nice for you'.

Regina reached out and touched the younger woman's shoulder gently. She wasn't the evil queen anymore, or the mayor, or even the young innocent girl she had once been in the Enchanted Forest. But the hard granite that had once surrounded her heart had been chipped away, by pain and by suffering and by love, and she found that the misery in Emma's eyes and the wistful tilt of her lips pulled at her heart strings. She felt, for the first time in a while, that she could reach out to help someone without having to fear that she would be betrayed. She had Daniel and Henry, and for them she could put aside her grievances. 'Talk to me Emma'.

Emma sighed heavily. The touch on her shoulder was surprisingly comforting. Carefully, still avoiding the woman's gaze, she turned around and sat on the bed properly, mirroring Regina's pose by crossing her legs. Keeping her eyes on the hands resting in her lap, she said hesitantly, 'as you know, I don't have the best track record. The story begins with my car actually'.

Regina raised her eyebrows. 'How romantic'. The usually bitting tone to her sarcasm wasn't present though, and Emma could recognise the gentle tease.

Emma gave the woman a quick smile, appreciating her attempts to liven the atmosphere. 'I stole it. One of my many petty crimes. But I got a shock when I discovered that there was actually someone in the car. It turned out that the car I was 'stealing' had already been stolen and that the original thief was taking a nap in the back of the car'. She paused, and in the silence a smile passed like a shadow over her lips. 'His name was Neal Cassidy. We hit off pretty well unsurprisingly. And we sort of became a team. We stole when we wanted to and we enjoyed it. Sort of like a Bonnie and Clyde thing'.

Regina smiled slightly at the reference. Perhaps it wasn't the most romantic thing in the world, or the most traditional, but she could tell by the half hidden expression on Emma's face that she had been happy.

Emma's expression saddened, her eyes hardening. 'I thought that it was real, our love. But it wasn't. To cut a long story short, there was a bunch of watches that Neal had stolen and hidden somewhere. I decided to steal them myself, so that the cops couldn't arrest him. He told me to meet him at this place, but when I did I was arrested. Turns out Neal set me up and skipped town. I went to prison. It wasn't much later that I discovered that I was pregnant with Henry'.

There was quiet in the bedroom for a while. Regina's hand had tightened on Emma's arm, but the older woman's expression remained strangely blank. Emma stared off into the distance, half watching Regina in her peripheral vision. Talking had helped surprisingly. She felt better, lighter somehow, as if the burden of her memories had left her with her words. Finally Regina spoke, her voice soft and gentle, 'I can see why you find it so hard to believe that you might be in love again'.

Emma shrugged. 'I'm not sure what has you so convinced that I love August'. There was an attempt at levity in her tone, but it failed rather miserably when her voice caught on the man's name. Regina raised her eyebrows slightly, a smile playing about her lips. Emma noticed the knowing smirk and snorted. 'Besides, even if, hypothetically, I did love him, how could he love me? We don't exactly know each other very well'.

Regina's lips curled in a very familiar smirk. 'You've both come from the Enchanted Forest Emma. People were falling in love at a mere glance in our place of origin. You'll have to get used to that when we return'.

Emma shook her head but remained silent. She felt a little uncomfortable. While Regina didn't really resemble the mayor she remembered at all, that smirk had served to remind her that while they might be something like friends now, it hadn't always been that way.

As if sensing her thoughts, Regina's smirk softened considerably. 'Don't you believe in love at first sight?'

Emma laughed lowly. 'Really, after that story you think that I would still believe that? I believe in knowing someone before you commit to a relationship. I mean, you knew Daniel very well before you fell in love with him, didn't you?'

Regina nodded. 'I did'.

Emma threw up her hands. 'Well there you go. How could you understand my situation?' She sounded both exasperated and a little despairing.

Regina shook the woman slightly to regain her attention. 'No, I don't understand your situation. What I do know is that life is short and unpredictable. Why not take every opportunity that you have to love and be loved? The alternative is not pleasant'.

It was sometimes easy to forget that Regina had spent so long without love, as Emma had spent so long seeing her with Henry. And it felt like Daniel had been in their lives for years now; he interacted with them all so naturally. Emma sighed heavily. 'But –'

Regina held up her hand for silence. 'If it isn't love then it isn't, and you will find a way to deal with it. But if it is, and you don't try, then you will never know, and you will regret not knowing for the rest of your life'.

Emma turned to look at her, and Regina could see the last walls crumbling behind her eyes. 'Did you take a risk, in loving Daniel? Did you regret loving him, at any point, because of the pain loving him caused you?' Her voice was soft, childish almost. She was slowly losing the battle against Regina's consistent push to get her to realise her feelings.

Regina laughed, and though it was free and light, her expression had saddened considerably. When she spoke, her voice was choked with emotion. 'Oh I took a risk alright, a risk that was realised when my mother faked his death. But no, I never regretted it, and I would never take it back. I know what true love is, what it feels like to know that you are loved so completely by someone you would die for. Despite the pain that has followed me, I would not rewrite history and make myself choose someone else'.

Quite abruptly, Emma laughed. The strangeness of her situation had just struck her head on. 'I never thought that I would find myself here talking about love with the Evil Queen'.

Regina grinned darkly, a mocking light glinting in her eyes. 'I never thought that I would have Daniel in my life again, that I would forgive Snow White and become something like friends with her daughter. Yet here we are. If August loves you, if you even think that you might return those feelings, then try'.

Emma hesitated. She was a stubborn person, and though she could tell that she had lost the battle, both against Regina and her warring heart, she was cautious. She had been disappointed before, and she wasn't sure if she could face it again. 'I…one more question. Did you know when you fell in love with Daniel? I mean, was it a gradual thing where you just woke up one day and decided that you loved him, or…' she trailed off, letting the question hang in the air.

Regina smiled softly, her eyes un-focusing as she became immersed in the memory. 'It was a gradual thing. I began to feel like I didn't want to leave him after our horse riding sessions. I wanted to spend more time with him and I even considered disobeying my mother to do so. I didn't understand why, and it never really occurred to me that it was love. For me, love was something that existed for other people, not me. I could see the relationship between my mother and my father, and I assumed that I would have something like that one day, never mind my wishes. I had started sneaking out at night to see him even before we began a relationship. It was something that began when I was a child actually. He was quite literally my only friend. But one night we went up to Firefly Hill. Daniel had brought a small rug, and we just lay under the full moon gazing up at the stars. I think we both had a feeling of feeling trapped. I felt trapped by my mother, and he felt trapped because he loved me, but he was a mere stable boy. We were talking about it, about how we had dreams that we felt we couldn't follow. About how there was freedom under the stars. And he leaned up on his elbow so that he was looking down at me and…' Regina's smile widened and a soft laugh escaped her lips. 'He kissed me'.

Emma could feel her lips curling in response to the happiness in Regina's eyes. Regina's laughter grew louder. 'Oh Emma you should have seen his face. It was a mixture of surprise and absolute terror. He had just kissed the daughter of his employer; a noble woman whose mother was capable of making his life a living hell for what little remained of it'.

Emma laughed a little, glad to be taken away from her own conflict by the story that Regina was so absorbed in. 'What did you do?'

Regina's laughter died down and a soft, beautiful smile lit her face. 'I kissed him again, partly to shut him up, he was apologising so much. And I realised that what I was feeling was love'.

There was a comfortable silence in the bedroom. At last, Regina seemed to shake away the memory, and she gave Emma a slight shove in the back. 'Now go on. No harm can come of you trying'.

Emma raised her eyebrows. 'You really want me to love him, don't you?'

Regina nodded, her expression becoming serious. 'I owe you, Emma. The least I can do is to ensure that you have your happy ever after'.

Emma stood and crossed the room, a thoughtful frown creasing her forehead. At the door, she turned back. Regina was still sitting on the bed, her hands in her lap, a friendly smile curving her lips. 'How do you owe me?'

Regina rolled her eyes slightly, recognising Emma's attempt at delay. 'Aside from what happened in those cells, I owe you because you are Henry's mother. Now off you go. Or do you want me to hold your hand, Ms Swan?'

Emma snorted, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. 'You wish'.

Regina's laughter followed her down the stairs. She could see her father and mother talking in the kitchen, see Daniel sitting on the bottom step with a barely awake Henry in his lap. She ignored her parent's welcoming smiles, Daniel's curious glance and Henry's sleepy greeting, and instead fixed her eyes on the wooden man sleeping on the couch. She crossed the room on shaky legs, her jaw set in determination. _Don't think about it, don't think about it, just kiss him, how hard can it be?_

She sat down on the couch by his head, staring down at the carved features of his face. What if it didn't work? She shook herself. _Don't think about it. _If it didn't work, then it didn't work, and she would find another way to save him. Deliberately ignoring the cautious voice at the back of her mind, the woman leaned forwards and took the man's face in her hands. Her blonde hair swung down to frame her face, effectively blocking the outside world from view. There was nothing but her and August, and nothing else that mattered.

The wood of his face was smoother than she had expected, slightly rougher around his jaw.

She bent closer, her heart beating quickly in her chest. Her nose brushed against his wooden cheek.

Her eyes flickered once to his closed lids, then down to his lips. Would it feel strange, kissing a wooden man?

She remembered all the interactions they had had. She remembered the horror of watching him turn to wood before her eyes, and her desperate plea that she needed him. She remembered the twinkle of his dark blue eyes and his charming smile. She remembered the smell of leather and wood as she pressed her face against his leather jacket as the world rushed past them in a blur.

She remembered… him.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes tightly, and kissed him.

White light pierced through her tightly closed lids as a whoosh of air tugged her hair around her. The wood beneath her fingers changed to warm skin, the rough stubble of his beard prickling her palms. The firm resistance of his lips softened and she could taste wine as the smell of earth and oak wood filled her nose.

She opened her eyes and pulled away, her lips hovering over his as she breathed heavily.

Bright blue eyes stared back at her, and she could see her own shock reflected there. 'Emma?' His voice was rough with disuse, but as his hands moved up to rest on her hips and she felt the warmth of his skin through her pyjama top, she realised that he was real. He was alive.

And she laughed.

* * *

_**So, what do you think? Did it live up to the expectation? Or was it a disappointment after such a long break?**_

_**What did you think of the conversation between Snow and Regina? Those two really have a fascinating relationship that I hope is explored more on the show. I know that, certainly in canon, the conversation that occurred between Emma and Regina would never happen, but I think that it was the right time to have it in my story. What do you think of the way I had Emma come to terms with loving August? Did you like the way she broke the curse?**_

_**Oh and of course, what did you think of the Regina/Daniel and Daniel/Regina/Henry moments? I do actually think that Daniel and Regina did argue a bit, something that was hinted at during the Stable Boy, when she was reluctant to tell her mother about their relationship. **_

_**Anyway, I'm sorry again for the lateness! I can't promise when the next one will be up, because I have exams coming up *whimpers*. **_

_**Please leave a review!**_


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